


Christmas Eve At the West House.

by tvgal16



Category: The Flash (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-03-02 19:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2823608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tvgal16/pseuds/tvgal16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas Eve at the West House. <br/>Continues where the winter finale left us.<br/>I'm not huge on giving the story away in the summary but here's a list of keywords : Christmas, Carols, Karaoke. <br/>Yup. That's it! Lol  No Spoilers here so you're gonna have to read to find out the rest!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Christmas Eve At the West House.

 

Its 11:52pm on the eve of Christmas. Joe has headphones in as he tries to block everyone out while he watches the game he had missed between Manchester and Chelsea on his laptop. Cisco and Caitlin are trying to convince Barry, Iris & Eddie to participate in their annual CCKB - Christmas Carol Karaoke Battle. Cisco thinks the name needs some improvement but he has yet to come up with one after 3 yrs. Also he thinks having everyone join in will help Caitlin forget just for the night what her fiancé has now become.

 “Come on you guys, it’s gonna be fun. Tis the season to be Jolly after all right? So why is everyone standing in the way of my attempts at spreading some good’ ol Christmas Cheer?” Cisco argues.

Eddie chimes in, “If it’s going to get Iris to sing, count me in.” He says charmingly as he smiles at Iris. “I’ve actually never had the pleasure.” He continues. Iris nervously gives him a sly smile that only last’s a few seconds.

Barry watches from across the room and tries to contain the gut wrenching jealousy he’s trying so hard to hide with a giggle. He’s actually heard Iris sing once at their middle school talent show where she came in second place. Her voice was... something. After her mom left, it seemed like she took Iris’ will to sing with her.

Barry always assumed singing reminded her of her mom; someone she’s tried so hard to forget for years. Ever since he heard her sing it, he knew _Wonderwall_ was her favorite song. Sometimes when she’s alone at Jitters working the night shift, Barry would walk in on her humming the tunes.

What’s truly sad is she’s not smiling like she was when he first heard her sing it. And when she realizes Barry’s presence, she immediately stops and tries to avoid the topic by being the cheerful, witty, selfless Iris she’s known to be. And Barry truly gets it so he doesn’t confront her about it. He knows talking about her mom is the Bermuda Triangle in their relationship. A topic to never be discussed. Ever. And he respects that because he knows she’ll open up when she’s ready.

This sudden realization about what Eddie was trying to make her do caused him to chime in and say, “Iris is a horrible HORRIble singer. Did I put enough stress on the horror part? Its Christmas Karaoke let’s keep it Merry and spare our ears from... ” He stops then looks at Iris for a few seconds. She looks at him and then looks down. He then turns to Eddie and says with a tone that can only be described as serious yet concerned. “Please, just... don’t make her sing.”

 Eddie laughs it out by saying, “Okay, Okay … dude, it all depends on if Iris wants to or not.” He says turning to her. Everyone is now looking at her and she looks quite tense for a second then she breathes and says, “As much as I hate to admit it. Barry’s right. If there was a TV show that appreciated my kind. I’d be the first to sign up. Don’t be rude Barry, because when I win, your name is gonna be excluded from my winning speech!” Iris says daringly with a smirk as she directs the last few words to Barry.

 Barry turns to everyone, “See what I mean, you all should be thanking me.” Eddie clearly surprised at this revelation turns to Iris and whispers, “Wow, something you’re actually not good at. Well, that’s a first.” Iris giggles and says to everyone.

“Eddie’s going to sing for both of us and ... I’ll be the judge. I might be tone deaf to my own lousy singing but I know good singing when I hear one.” She says smiling and turning to Eddie. They both giggle for a moment and Iris realizes Barry might be looking at them and what kind of person would she be if she flirted with her boyfriend in front of her best friend after he just confessed his love for her earlier that day. “Gosh, I’m a bitch!” She thinks to herself. She looks his way and he immediately avoids her gaze and starts setting up the mic. She feels even guiltier.

10 mins later everything is set up and Cisco has decided the order in which they’re going to sing. “Me-Caitlin-Eddie (Iris) – and last but not least, Barry” Cisco says out loud. Eddie jokingly says, “Barry, since you were too quick to judge Iris, I’m thinking you’re a pretty good singer huh?” Iris has heard Barry sing before.

They used to sing together all the time when her mom was around. But he never sings anymore and now she’s wondering why. She assumes Barry has nothing to sing about after the tragedy that happened to his parents.

The show starts and Cisco sings, _It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year._ Everyone is shocked at his excessive energy, vibrancy and theatrics. He makes his voice as deep as he can and moves with the beat. Caitlin can’t help but laugh and cheer for him. Everyone else is just shocked. In the end, they all burst out laughing as they clap. Cisco finishes with a bow and takes a seat.

Caitlin goes next and sings “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” She’s really good too and everyone finds comfort in her voice. Then Eddie goes next and sings, “All I want for Christmas Is You”. The entire time he sang he was looking at Iris, she just didn’t know how to react. Why didn’t she know how to react? Iris thinks to herself.

This is her boyfriend for heaven’s sake. They’re freaking moving in together. Iris thinks to herself. And OMG Barry! This must feel like hell to him. How can she get herself out of this juxtaposition? Eddie keeps singing, “All I want for Christmas is you… you … baaaabayyy.” Iris nervously smiles at him and then turns to face Barry.

                                                     FIN.


	2. "Barry, Just Stop!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Chapter 1, "Christmas Eve At the West House."
> 
> WESTALLEN ANGST GUARANTEED!
> 
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> Happy Reading!

Previously...

This is her boyfriend for heaven’s sake. They’re freaking moving in together. Iris thinks to herself. And OMG Barry! This must feel like hell to him. How can she get herself out of this juxtaposition? Eddie keeps singing, “All I want for Christmas is you… you … baaaabayyy.” Iris nervously smiles at him and then turns to face Barry.

She could have sworn Barry was sitting on that old wingback library chair just seconds ago. How could he not be there? Did he just freaking disappear into emptiness? She was getting worried. Why would Barry just opt and leave without saying anything? That was so not like him. Now she was really getting worried.

“Guys?” Iris whispers nervously. “You guys!” she says a little louder as she tries to get Eddie to stop singing. “Hey!!” She finally yells. Everyone turns to her but the background music keeps playing.

“Are you okay?” Cisco inquires. “What’s going on Iris?” Caitlin continues.

“Are you guys seriously oblivious to the fact that Barry’s just... disappeared?” She has a confused look on her face.

“I mean who am I to talk I just noticed he was gone about a minute ago. What kind of people are we??... What kind of person am I?” Iris starts to break down as the walks back and forth pondering.

Caitlin and Cisco exchange a knowing look. They immediately knew he used his speed to leave unnoticeably.

“I’m pretty sure he’s alright. He’s ... Barry!” Caitlin says with a knowing look written all over her face.

Cisco backs her up, “Yeah, Barry’s probably taking a walk down the street to watch the Christmas light displays. Your neighborhood really goes ALL OUT by the way.” He nods.

“Yeah. Barry can take care of himself hun; you have nothing to worry about.” Eddie reassures her and attempts to wrap his hands around her waist. Iris turns the other way and faces Cisco and Caitlin.

“But why would he leave in such an ... odd manner...?” She whispers to both herself and the others. She then takes out her phone and dials Barry’s number. He doesn’t answer.

 She’s even more worried at this point. Barry has never NOT taken her calls no matter where he was or what he was doing. She always knew he was the one she could count on. He has always been the only constant in her life. In the words of Oasis, he was her ... Wonderwall.

“He’s not picking up, why isn’t he picking up??” She says in a tone that could only be described as concerned yet anxious. She was on the verge of tears like she was going to lose it any second.

Eddie turns her frame to face him. Her eyes were glassy at this point and he had never seen her this worked up before about anything in the life of their relationship. He found himself speechless.

“Eddie, I need to find him. I need to get out there and find him. It’s like freaking 20 degrees out there Eddie; he might be freezing to death for all we know.” Iris starts raising her voice, and then she turns towards the door and just walks out.

Eddie tries to walk out with her but Caitlin gives him a look that could only mean - don’t get in the way.

“AT LEAST TAKE A JACKET!” he yells at her disappearing silhouette.

“IT’S FREEZING! ... It’s freezing out there.” He whispers in defeat.

Iris just keeps walking aimlessly down the streets. She has no idea where Barry would go. He doesn’t drive so she’s sure she can catch up with him. She’s getting really cold. Her fingers and ears are beginning to get numb. She takes her hair out of the bun it was in and lets it fall over her ears. She starts hugging her frame as she walks. “I’m going to kill him for making me do this.” She viciously whispers to herself.

She’s now been walking for 10 minutes and still no sight of Barry. She’s uncontrollably shivering at this point but the thought of giving up has yet to cross her mind. “Where are you...Bearrr?” she starts to whisper as she turns to look at their local Dive Bar across the street. The “We’re Open” sign was on.

 “One would have to be pretty lonely to even think about spending their Christmas Eve at such a place.” She thinks to herself. Almost suddenly, she sees the silhouette of a young adult guy with his hands in pocket and his head bowed down walking towards the Dive. She takes a closer look and comes to the realization that it’s Barry!

“BARRY!! BARRYYY!!” she shouts out while waving and jumping. He obviously can’t hear her, she assumes. She looks for oncoming vehicles on both sides of the road and crosses the road.

“Barryyyy! Ugh, please don’t make me run!” She says to herself. She’s now running towards him and trying to catch up.

She finally does and she’s now breathing heavily. She’s walking and calling out, “Barry! Hold up!” Barry finally turns to face her. She’s panting like she just ran a mile and her hands are now on her knees because she’s exhausted.

“Go home Iris.” He simply says to her and keeps walking.

Now she’s really angry. “Why are you doing this Barry? Did you really think we wouldn’t notice you were gone? Cause that’s jus –”

Barry quickly cuts her off. “Oh, I’m sorry Iris; I guess it’s just kinda impossible to think while you and your ... boyfriend were being Central City’s Cutest Couple.” He shouts, turning to faces her.

Iris looks at him, utterly shocked by his tone and slowly replies, ““You know that’s not fair.” She looked like she was going to start crying any second. A strong wind blows and she hugs her frame and looks down.

“Oh Iris. Not fair?” Barry starts walking towards her with an intense look that could also be described as passionate.

“Are you seriously going to talk to me about unfairness? If there’s anyone in the world who hasn’t experienced a day of unfairness in their life, it’s you, Iris West. Seriously Iris, when have things ever not gone your way?”

“Barrr –” Iris cries out.

“No Iris, I’ll tell you what isn’t fair.” Barry starts. “Watching you go off to Senior Prom with Nate Evans wasn’t fair. You telling me in excruciating details how your first kiss went with Shane Voss was far from being fair.”

“Barry.., stop.” Iris keeps trying to make him stop talking.

“And waking up from my coma just to see you moved on and fell in love with Eddie Thawne felt like someone literally put a dagger through my heart.”

“Stop!” Iris begins to scream.

“Iris, I haven’t even started. My paren -- ”

“BARRY JUST STOP!!!!!” She finally screams at the top of her lungs.

FIN.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like the angst? Lol  
> I so wasn't planning to go down this road but I’m glad I did.  
> Thanks to all of you who are sending me great feedback.  
> It really helps and your comments really motivate me to write more so if you can leave one   
> What are you liking / hating? Let me know.  
> If you’d like to guest write a chapter to this story, hit me up! I would be more than happy to have a coauthor. Like I said before, Westallen means a lot to me and I take my time to write to its perfect so please bare with me I don’t update as frequently as I should.  
> SAVE THIS STORY SO AS TO GET NOTIFIED WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER IS POSTED!


	3. Silent Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris finally have the talk.  
> No Spoilers here :)

Previously...

“And waking up from my coma just to see you moved on and fell in love with Eddie Thawne felt like someone literally put a dagger through my heart.”

“Stop!” Iris begins to scream.

“Iris, I haven’t even started. My paren --”

“BARRY JUST STOP!!!!!” She finally screams at the top of her lungs.

~~SILENT NIGHT~~

Iris isn’t wearing much. The weather is getting really bad. When the winds blew, if you listened closely you could hear a howl.

She hugs her frame very tightly while teardrops ran down her cheeks. She’s trying really hard to get the words out but all that comes out is the sound of her teeth chattering.

She’s shaking and hugging herself even more tightly.

From where Barry is standing, he notices that if she hugged herself any tighter she would crush all the bones in her body.

He quickly takes off his jacket and covers her back with it. Then he takes off the scarf around his neck and wraps it all around her hands. He holds them tight and tries to blow more heat into the little scarf cocoon he just created.

“Is that warm enough?”He says staring at her while he continues to blow warm air into her scarf covered hands.

“No Barry.” Iris starts to take off the jacket he had put around her and unravels the scarf he earlier covered her hands with. “Here.” she slowly hands them over to him. She wipes her tears and stares into his eyes for a few seconds.

“Iris what are you doing? If your skin is exposed to the cold any longer you’re going to get frostbite.” Barry reassures her in a serious tone.

“Well, I don’t give a shit Barry!” Iris yells at him. “Besides, taking your jacket and letting you freeze isn’t exactly fair. Is it?” She whispers turning to look across the street.

“Iris, I’m serious. If we don’t get you home as soon as possible you’re ...” he starts but remembers forcing Iris to do anything against her will is futile. “I’m sorry.” He says looking at her directly. “I’m sorry for lashing out like that. It was completely out of line and I’m making this all about me. It’s just ... I’ve kept all these feelings buried inside for a really long time and I just need to let it out somehow you know?”

He takes his eyes away from her. “That’s why I left. I felt like I... like I couldn’t breathe watching you two. I didn’t expect you to walk out and start a manhunt in the middle of the night wearing close to nothing.” He points at her clothes and starts to giggle.

Iris joins him. Her eyes are still teary but now she’s smiling.

“I just needed to be alone.” He admits. “Now can I PLEASE take you home before I have to explain to Joe why his daughter looks like a character from Frozen?” He begs her.

Iris looks up at him and smiles. She’s still hugging herself and shaking like she just had a bucket of cold water dumped on her.

Barry walks over to her and puts his jacket around her and wraps her hands with the scarf just like he did before. He then looks at her and motions with his hand, “After you.”

They start to walk side by side in the silent night.

Iris notices Barry starting to hug himself and rubbing his hands together.

She steps closer to his side and puts her hand behind his waist. He then brings her entire body closer to him to keep him warm as well as they walked side by side.

Barry stops to look at her and smiles nervously. “I don’t ... think we should be...”

“What do you mean?” Iris asks without a clue about what he’s trying to say.

Barry looks at her hand around his waist and looks back at her.

“I’m not letting you freeze because of me, Barry. Besides, it’s not like we’ve never done this before.” She says as she lifts his hand and puts it around her neck. “Now stay close if you wanna keep warm.”

They walk in silence all the way home until they get to the front porch.

Barry quickly lets go of her and steps to the opposite side. He’s about to ring the door bell but Iris stops him. She faces him and starts.

“Honestly, I have no idea how to respond to everything you told me. I just need time to process. You have no idea how much its killing me knowing that you had all these feelings and I was clueless. I should have known. Lately, it’s been like I barely know you anymore and that scares the shit out of me.” She looks him straight in the eye and says. “I love Eddie. I’m sorry, but I do.”

Barry puts his hand behind his head and says, “Iris, if you’re trying to make me feel better, you’re doing a horrible job.”

“I love him and I love you too. You are like my favorite person in the whole world and I don’t know what I’d do if we ever stopped being friends. I can’t imagine life without you in it.”

She pauses. “God, I have no idea if I’m saying all the wrong things here but I’m being honest and you at least deserve that. I’m really hoping we can move past this. I’m really sorry Bear.”

She starts crying and walks closer to him and hugs him tightly.

“It’s not your fault Iris, my timing wasn’t exactly pristine. I had fourteen years to tell you and...”

“No.” Iris cuts him off. “I should have known. It’s my fault for not knowing. What kind of friend doesn’t know when the other is hurting?”

She pulls back from him and looks him in the eye. “Promise me we’ll get through this. Promise me you’ll tell me everything from now onwards. No more secrets.”

Barry breaks the eye contact and looks the other way as he says, “No ... no more secrets.”

“I’m so sorry.” Iris whispers.

“Iris, stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong. Its only making it worse.” Barry reassures her.

“Oh, I’m...” Iris starts but catches herself.

“It’s Christmas ever. Now stop crying. I don’t want Eddie thinking I hurt you or something.”

They both giggle. Iris turns and rings the door bell. Eddie opens the door and immediately hugs her.

“God you’re freezing.” He whispers behind her ear.

Caitlin and Cisco walk over and hand’s them a blanket.

They all walk to the couch and sit down.

Eddie brings Iris closer to him in attempts of keeping her warm and they start cuddling.

“So Barry, why did you run out unannounced? You should have seen Iris. She had us all freaked out.” Eddie looks at him curiously.

FIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANKS FOR READING  
> Hopefully you guys don’t hate me after reading this!  
> Barry will be just fine. He didn’t lose Iris and that’s all that matters.  
> What do you like? What do you hate? Let me know in the comments.  
> I just want to thank all of you who leave feedback after reading every chapter.  
> Its means a lot to me and motivates me to write more and I couldn’t thank you guys enough!  
> Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  
> Until next time,  
> xxxxsplendidjaniexxxx


	4. Coffee Encounters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris meet at Jitters and Barry is introduced to a third person.

Previously...

They all walk to the couch and sit down.

Eddie brings Iris closer to him in attempts of keeping her warm and they start cuddling.

“So Barry, why did you run out unannounced? You should have seen Iris. She had us all freaked out.” Eddie looks at him curiously.

**Coffee Encounters.**

It’s 9:30am. Barry wakes up late; as usual, and has to be at work by 10:00am. He uses his speed to shower and thankfully arrives the station on time. He walks in and accidentally bumps into Eddie who was carrying a cup of hot coffee.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry Eddie. I was rushing and I really didn’t see you there.” Barry starts apologizing.

“It’s totally fine, Allen, don’t worry about it. But I’m going to need another cup of coffee. My sanity runs on that stuff.” He explains. Thankfully, Iris always has one readymade for me every morning.” Eddie says with a smile plastered on his face.

Iris, of course was the reason he had gone to bed later than usual. She had called him that same night as soon as he entered his apartment. They talked about their feelings. Iris insisted they spilled all of their secrets because she couldn’t bare finding out another one of his secrets. Iris went on about missing him when he was in the coma and how alone she felt when she couldn’t see him or talk to him. He had been her oldest and closest friend for so long that she had no one to turn to. That is, until Eddie came along. She talked about how supportive and caring he had been: driving her to and from Star Labs whenever she had the day off work so she could see him. She told him how Eddie was always there for her when she felt all alone.

“Iris, just so you know, I refuse to be your maid of honor. You’re going to have to find yourself some female friends before it’s too late. You’re already moving in with Eddie, who knows what’s next?” Barry jokingly insisted and Iris immediately knew that was his way of giving his blessing to them.

“Aw, I was so looking forward to seeing you in sea foam lace!” She had replied in a sarcastic but disappointing tone. “And besides, I have other friends besides you. You just haven’t met them yet. But you’re right; I do need some friends of my own gender. Not telling you every detail of my relationship with Eddie is going to be really hard.” She had said with an honest tone.

“Iris, we can talk about Eddie. But the really intimate stuff you have to keep to yourself. It’s going to be hard but I’ll try my best to be supportive.” He reassured her.

Hearing those words had meant the world to her. In a way, the awkwardness had evaporated in thin air.

\------

“Earth to Barry Allen!” Eddie says, waving to his face.

“Sorry, I didn’t get enough sleep last night. I’m going to need some coffee too if I plan on getting anything done today.” Barry tells to Eddie. “What’s your usual?” He asks.

“Just tell Iris, she knows how I like it.” Eddie smiles and walks away.

Barry was suffocating with jealousy. He hurried out of the station and in a blink of an eye, he found himself at Jitters.

He expected to see Iris behind the counters but she was nowhere to be found. Asking her co-workers was not an option since jitters was really busy between the hours of 6 and 12. He took out his phone and decided to give Eddie a call to ask him for his usual order since Iris was apparently nowhere to be found.

Although her absence was unusual, he felt relieve in that he wasn’t quite ready to face her just yet. He was scared and wished the other night didn’t happen so they could go back to being Barry and Iris; the very best of friends.

He turned and decided to take his leave when he heard.

“Barry!” he turned to se Iris smiling and rushing towards him.

 She was wearing a pair of high waisted blue jeans that hugged her frame and accentuated her long legs, paired with a cream white turtleneck short sleeved knitted top and some black ankle booties. He also noticed her hair was up in a messy bun, allowing some strands to fall down her temples. Iris had never worn her hair up for as long as Barry could remember. He never thought she could look any prettier but seeing her right then and there changed that. He also noticed she wore the replica of her mom’s wedding band he had given her for Christmas. He tried to hide his smirk as she hurried past the customers towards him.

“Hey! What are you doing here?!” She was happy but also surprised to see him. Barry couldn’t even get himself to work on time, let alone stop for morning coffee.

“I accidentally spilled coffee on Eddie cause I was ru ...” Eddie started but was interrupted.

“... nning late. And you’re here for another one?” Iris smiled and continued for him.

“Exactly.” He smiled and nodded. All he could think about was how effortlessly gorgeous she looked. She had no idea what she was doing to him.

A beautiful redheaded girl walked up to them and turned to Iris, “Iris I have to get going, but it was very nice seeing you.”

The girl was regular height and had long red hair that went perfectly with her green eyes.

“Oh, so soon?!” Iris turned to her and said with a saddened look on her face. “It was really nice catching up and I’d love for us to meet sooner than later at a more desirable setting next time.” She said jokingly.

She noticed Barry was looking into space. “Oh! I’m sorry. Where are my manners? Eden, this is my best friend, Barry.” She motions to Barry. “And Barry, this is Eden, the roommate AND ZBZ sister I’ve told you about.” Iris motions to Eden.

 Iris and Eden both met as pledges in ZBZ, the most elite sorority at their university. They became roommates once they moved into their sorority house and became close friends until Eden decided to travel abroad to France during their junior year.

Barry and Eden both smile and shake hands.

“Okay, you two get acquainted while I get Eddie’s coffee ready. And Barry, don’t take this the wrong way but you really look like you could use a cup. So what’s it going to be sleepyhead?” She asks.

“Very funny Iris.” He grinned. “Just plain black.” He replied.

“How about you, Eden? Would you like anything to go?” Iris asked.

“I can’t believe you forgot.” She replies disappointedly.

“Shut up! I thought that was just a phase.” Iris says shockingly. She then turns to Barry and explains. “Eden decided to go vegan during sophomore year. She banned all caffeinated beverages and non – organic foods from her diet. I just never thought she would stick to the healthy eating lifestyle for this long.” She gives Eden a surprised look.

“Iris, I’m right here you know? And I can be quite committed if I want to.” She defends herself.

“I’m so proud of you Eden.” Iris smiles. “And trust me when I say, it shows. Your skin is basically glowing and you have the body of a professional yoga instructor. I’m seriously reconsidering my eating choices now.” She tells Eden.

“Okay, enough chattering, two cups coming up!” She says and hurries away.

Barry felt nervous as Iris left him with Eden. It was kind of awkward until he decided to break the ice first.

“So, Eden, where you named after the garde...” He starts but Eden quickly finishes for him.

“The garden of Eden? Yes. My parents are very pious folk. Shockingly, you and Iris have been the only people to figure it out. Most people usually assume I was named after a Vegas striper.” She tells him and giggles.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Barry.” She smiles at him. “Iris wouldn’t shut up about how much she missed you when we roomies.” She laughed. “Something about you leaving her for blood and bones?” She inquires.

“Yeah, I work in the forensics department at Central City’s Police Station.” He smiles at her. “Oh and Iris mentioned you abandoned her for cheese and croissants?” Barry told her with a raised eyebrow.

“She actually said that?!” Eden giggled. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Iris has always had a unique way with words. She could always WOW all the professors. Journalism is indeed her calling.” Eden continues.

“She really does, doesn’t she? I’m surprised she needed me to tell her that.” Barry smiles to himself.  Then catches himself and says, “So France huh?”

“Yeah! France was great. The culture, music and atmosphere seemed like a recurring daydream. After two weeks of exploring French Literature at _Lycee Descartes,_ I had an epiphany. Every night I would go to the Bibliotheque, and instead of reading there, I would go to the different restaurants and just get completely lost in the menus.” She started.

“It slowly became a problem when I realized I was reading more restaurant menu’s than books. It then became clear that I was more invested in French cuisine than French Literature. So, I spent the rest of my time there interning with multiple souse chefs and taking nutrition classes.” She smiles and nods at Barry.

Barry laughed. “Wow, who would’ve thought? I’m glad you found your niche. Too bad you had to go all the way to France to find it.” Barry tells her.

Eden explains passionately. “No, Paris was phenomenal. The people there were more than inspiring. The art, the culture, the food, it was all very different but in a very good way. Paris will always have a place in my heart.”

“Two cups to go!” Iris walks up smiling and hands them to Barry.

Eden says to Barry. “It was really nice to meet you Barry.”

“And Iris, call me.” She turns to Iris and hugs her tightly. She then walks and exits out of Jitters.

“So...????” Iris presses. She’s now playfully hitting Barry’s arm like she always does when she’s excited.

“Ahhwwww! That hurts. And what do you mean?”

“You know what Barry ... never mind, we’ll talk later. The coffee’s getting cold and if you’re late again, I swear my dad will kill you, so scurry off!”  Iris reminds him but still continues to slap his arm.

“Alright! Alright! I’m leaving!” Barry replies as he turns around and leaves.

          He waits until Iris goes behind the counter. He stands outside the window and watches her move around taking orders. She greets every one of them with her signature bright smiles and even the grumpiest of them couldn’t help but return that smile back. He just stood there in awe of how beautiful she is. Her smile had a certain charm that even science couldn’t explain.

          For two minutes, he stood there admiring her. To him, it felt more like forever.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.  
> Are you guys liking Eden’s character? She was inspired by Eden from Nip/Tuck.  
> What do you love? What are you hate?  
> Let me know in the comments! I appreciate every single feedback I get so please, please, please leave me some   
> I’m sorry I didn’t write at all last week.  
> This was by far the hardest chapter to write but I’m trying my best.  
> Anyone who would want to co-write this storyline with me should let me know.  
> Until Next Time. Remain Blessed.  
> XxxxsplendidjanieXxxx


	5. "Like Crazy."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry comes to terms with the fact that he can't move on from Iris.  
> But Iris still tries to set him up on a "date".  
> Mostly Fluff and a little angst.

Previously...

“You know what Barry ... never mind, we’ll talk later. The coffee’s getting cold and if you’re late again, I swear my dad will kill you, so scurry off!”  Iris reminds him but still continues to slap his arm.

“Alright! Alright! I’m leaving!” Barry replies as he turns around and leaves.

          He waits until Iris goes behind the counter. He stands outside the window and watches her move around taking orders. She greets every one of them with her signature bright smiles and even the grumpiest of them couldn’t help but return that smile back. He just stood there in awe of how beautiful she is. Her smile had a certain charm that even science couldn’t explain.

          For two minutes, he stood there admiring her. To him, it felt more like forever             

**“Like Crazy.”**

          It is now 7:00pm on the dot. Iris wave’s goodbye to her co-workers as she exits Jitters. She then decides to swing by the police station and talk to Barry as she had earlier promised. She enters and stops by Eddie’s office just to find it empty. She starts walking towards the stairs when she hears her dad’s voice, “If you’re looking for Eddie, he’s with Barry.”

          She turns around and flashes a smile at him. “Thanks dad! See you in time for dinner?” she asks.

          “Its Mac & Cheese night, Iris, you know I never miss Mac & Cheese night.” He reassures her and walks away.

          Iris giggles and continues up the stairs. The station seemed deserted. She figured most of the officers had gone home for the night. She finally reaches the second floor and sees Barry and Eddie fully indulged in an ongoing police investigation. With Barry’s back facing her, she just couldn’t resist it.

          She slowly creeps step by step; carefully trying to silence every creek the floor might make. Eddie catches her sneaking. She quickly smiles and places a finger on her lips signaling for Eddie to keep quiet. He gets the message and tries to keep cool.

          Iris then quickly approaches Barry, gets on her tippy toes and covers his Eyes and says playfully, “Guess who thinks you’re ‘dreamy’!? She sounded like a schoolgirl would.

          Eddie sends her a surprising look with a sly smile. Barry, even with his eyes covered appeared to be clueless about what Iris was rambling on about. “Iris, don’t you think we’re getting a little bit too old for stuff like this?”

          Iris quickly frees Barry’s eyes, gets between the two men and give’s Barry her signature 100,000 watts smile.

          “Um, Iris, Is there something you’re not telling me?” Eddie interrupts with a nervous tone that revealed he was feeling out of the loop.

          “EDEN!” she quickly yells with her hands going Tada!

          “Not this again, Iris.” Barry wearily tells Iris before he goes to sit down.

          Iris moves closer to Eddie and gives him a quick kiss and hug.

          “Eden is my totally hot and totally gorgeous friend who Barry met at Jitters this morning.” Iris enlightens him and then turns back to Barry.

          “During my break, I decided to call Eden and we talked about girly stuff you probably don’t wanna hear about ...” She drifts off as she observes her audience slowly losing interest. “If I’m not mistaken, this was all your idea.” She sternly tells Barry.

          He just shrugs and says, “And the moral of this story is...”

          “You know what Barry? Never mind. Anyways, your name happened to come up; courtesy of yours truly. Long story short, Eden told me she thought you were ‘kinda dreamy’.” She continues. “She said she found your awkwardness and the whole nerd thing you have going on kinda cute.” Iris reveals to him.

          “Annnnnnd that’s my cue!” Eddie announces. “Iris, Barry, I’ll see you both when you’re done playing matchmaker.” Eddie says kissing Iris’ cheek and walking out.

 

          Barry didn’t know what he was signing up for when he had told Iris he supported her relationship with Eddie. He thought telling Iris the truth would somehow make it easier. He thought wrong. Seeing her be with him in that moment filled him with unexplainable jealousy. He knew she would never do it just to hurt him and that made him even madder. Why did she always have to be so ... so... perfect? He found himself constantly asking. If she was at fault, at least he’d have a logical reason to disapprove of their relationship and maybe hate her. God, he wanted to hate her so bad but he just couldn’t.

          He knew he should be happy for her but he wasn’t and he didn’t care if it was okay. He didn’t care if it was the friendly thing to do. All he knew was he wanted to have her. He loved every single thing about her. Getting over her wasn’t an easy task at all.

          When he had told Cisco and Caitlin about their talk, Cisco had advised him to make a list of everything he didn’t like about her; physically and personality wise. He took Cisco’s advice and when he tried to, he ended up staring and giggling at the paper for two hours straight. Everything he came up with was justified with one and the same thought. “But it’s so adorable when she does it.” He just ended up fantasizing about a Utopia where he never got struck by lightning and didn’t stay in a coma for nine months and Eddie Thawne never came along; a utopia where he could call Iris his.

          When Cisco had called back to check on him, he told him what had happened and all Cisco said was, “Duuuuude, you’ve got a bad case of the feels and sadly, even Dr. Cupid can’t help you with this one. Sorry buddy, you’re on your own.”

          “Cisco, don’t give up on me. I need your help now more than ever.” Barry begged him on the phone.

          “Wow, you’re really in love with her aren’t you?” Cisco suddenly realized.

          **“Like crazy.”** Barry replied. “Sometimes it just plainly hurts.”

 

          “I’ll call you!” She says to Eddie as he disappears and then she turns to Barry.

          “Iris, Eden seems really nice and all but I don’t think we have that much in common.” Barry tries to tell her in the hopes of making her drop the topic before he said something he couldn’t take back. He wasn’t over her yet and he so wasn’t ready to start dating someone else.

          “Barry, I know you. You always try to shut things down before they even start. Eden is amazing, I know you two will hit it off and I want you to be happy.” She assures him.

          “How am I supposed to love anyone else if I’m still in love with you?” Barry asks her sincerely. “I thought moving on would be easy but Iris, it’s not. I still think of you every second of every day. When I’m at work, I’m always hoping the next person to walk in would be you. And worst of all, I have to work with him knowing he’s the only thing standing between me and you.” He says looking down. “I wish it was that easy, but it just isn’t. And, trust me, I’ve tried!” He presses his palm to his forehead.

          Iris is speechless for a few seconds. “It can’t be easy for you and I know that.”

          “And how could you possibly know that, Iris? You could basically get any guy in school. You were the girl every guy dreamed of going to prom with; including me.” He giggles nervously.

          “Barry, I’m sorry okay. I really am. I’m trying the best I can to be here for you. I know that’s not much but...” Iris starts but Barry interrupts when he sees her eyes getting glassy.

          “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. I know you have my best interest at heart and I’m sorry for being inconsiderate.” Barry apologizes.

          Iris smiles and starts blinking rapidly in the hopes of making her tears disappear.

           “I thought you getting to know Eden would maybe help, you know? Maybe get your mind off things. I already feel guilty as hell for the way things are now.”

          “Don’t.” Barry reassures her.

          “Just promise me you’ll at least try with Eden?” She begs.

          Barry could never deny her anything. He couldn’t bear to see her hurting. Not when he could do something about it. “Fine, I will.” He gives up.

          “Great! It’s a double date then.” She reveals with excitement.

          Barry raises an eyebrow.

          “Too soon?” She inquires.

          Barry nods.

           “Okay, we’ll just call it a group hang then.” She says.

          “Much better.” Barry agrees.

          “Eden doesn’t really have any other friends since she’s new in town so, be ... be Barry.” She advises as she tilts her head to the side and smiles.

          “Yeah, It’s going to be hard, but I’ll try my very best to be ‘Barry’, Iris.” He replies sarcastically as he laughs.

          “I’m serious!” Iris smacks his arm.

          “Alright! I’ll be ‘Barry’.” He reassures her; air quotes evident in his tone.

          “Good! I’ll leave you to whatever you’re doing. Text me when you get off?” She asks.

          “Will do.” He answers.

          Iris turns and walks away. She almost reaches the door before Barry calls out. “Iris!”

          Typical Barry felt guilty and compelled to ask her about the flash since he couldn’t stand her being mad at him; be it as the Flash or as Barry Allen.

          “Yeah?” Iris turns around.

          “Um... you haven’t been talking about the Flash in a while. Did something happen?” He tries to ask with utter subtlety.

          “Turns out he wasn’t who I thought he was. Ugh how could I have been so stupid? I should’ve listened to you Bear.”  She says regretfully.

          “Maybe he ...” Iris cuts him off.

          “Don’t! Don’t try to defend him, Barry.” She says as she walks out.

          Was she really that mad at him? ... The Flash? Barry thought to himself. Telling her his secret just became 10 x harder to do. He feared it could be the only lie their friendship could not survive.

It’s Friday Morning.

Iris texts Barry.

Iris: What are you wearing?!

Barry: ... umm what..?

Iris: Tonight! Please tell me you didn’t forget.

Barry: Oh, it’s Friday already?

Iris: Yes it’s ‘Friday already’. Send me pics of what you plan on wearing tonight.

Barry: Iris, I’m not sending you pictures of my clothes. Like I said, you need more girlfriends. Guy’s just don’t do stuff like that.

Iris: Since when?!!!! I basically picked out every outfit you wore to school during election week. You couldn’t have won class treasurer without me and you know it.

Barry: Iris. We’re not in high school anymore.

Iris: Whatever, just be on time okay? We might be used to ‘Tardy Barry’ but Eden might take it the wrong way.

Barry: Got it! See you tonight.

 

          Its finally 7pm. Eddie picks Iris up from the West house and they ride together to the movie theater. It’s pretty dark out already and the weather is absolutely ideal for the night they had planned. Iris gets out of the car and notice’s that Barry’s late again. Thankfully, Eden was too. They both wait for five minutes in the movie theatre lobby but still no signs of Barry or Eden.

          “I can already tell they’re going to hit it off.” Eddie says jokingly.

          “I specifically told him not be late. Ugh. I’ll call him.” Iris tells Eddie.

          “You do that. I’ll go buy the tickets.” Eddie says before kissing her on the forehead and leaving.

          Iris takes out her phone and just as she’s about to dial Barry’s number, she feels a swift wind blow on her from behind.

          “I told you I’d be on time, didn’t I?” Barry whispers from behind her.

          “Well, you’re in luck because Eden is running late.” She turns around and says sternly.

          Barry becomes speechless. He takes the time to take in how beautiful she looked in the pale movie theatre lighting. God she was beautiful. How on earth was he supposed to move on with another girl now? He thought to himself.

          She had on a black and white striped t-shirt, tucked into a black scallop hemmed mini skirt. She also wore the same black booties from last time, only this time, he could see she paired it with a pair of black lace socks that went a little above the boot cut. He noticed her legs appeared longer and sexier in that skirt. Barry could have given anything in that moment to reach out and touch them. She was wearing a pomegranate - like scent that made her smell yummy. Her hair was pinned up in a messy bun with strands rebelliously falling down her temples. She hung her cross body Rebecca Minkoff bag across her frame and she was wearing the wedding band he had given her for Christmas around her neck. He grinned to himself at the sight of it.

          Just when Barry thought she couldn’t get any sexier, she proves him wrong. She could literally put on rags and look perfect in his eyes. On multiple occasions when Caitlin would catch him staring, she would say, “Iris must be some sort of succubi. Look, you’re basically drooling at the sight of her.” He just could not keep himself from being mesmerized by her.

          “Barry! Look at me.” Iris snaps.

          “Sorry, it’s just, you look really ~~freaking sexy~~... nice.” He catches himself before he made things even more awkward this early on in the night.

          Barry is wearing a pair of black jeans, a white graphic baseball tee, an army green jacket, black oxford shoes and a black beanie.

          Iris scans him from head to toe and reaches for his Beanie. “Beanies were made for bad hair days. Barry Allen does not have bad hair days.” She says as she gets on her tippy toes and begins to run and ruffle her fingers through his hair. She was right. Barry’s hair always seemed to look perfectly imperfect no matter what.

           “There. Now you look dashing.” She smiles at him.

          She was making this (moving on) harder. Barry thought to himself.

          “Sorry I’m late, traffic was horrible!” Eden walks up to them and hugs Iris.

          “No need to apologize.” Iris responds.

          She then gives Barry a look which led to him complimenting Eden. “You look really pretty.” He says with a sincere grin.

          Eden was wearing a black midi skirt and a lime green criss-cross crop top. A little bit of her belly was exposed, thus giving the whole outfit a very daring vibe. Her long red hair was curled and she had on brown heeled sandals.

           “Thanks Barry, you don’t look so bad yourself.” She responds with a cute smile.

          Eddie walks up to them and says, “4 tickets to ...” He stops short at the sight of Eden.

          “Eddie Thawne?!” Eden asks shockingly.

          “Eden Crowley?!” Eddie asks shockingly as well.  

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest Chapter Ever Am I Right?! Lol  
> I got tired of you all telling me it was plain rude to write short chapters and end on a cliffhanger so I did something about it and man am I glad I did.  
> What do you like? What do you hate? Please leave me some comments!  
> THEY MAKE ME UNEXPLAINABLY HAPPY!!!!!!  
> I started writing this to get us through the hiatus and guys, its finally here. Tuesday is literally 3 days away! :D #wemadeit  
> Okay, I have nothing else to say other than, Jan 20th IS COMING! And... I have to pee...  
> Stay Splendid,  
> xxxxsplendidjaniexxxx


	6. The Longest Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Began writing this in the summer but never got around to finishing it. Thought to just share it and hopefully get some inspiring feedback that would encourage me to continue. Hope you enjoy it!   
> What do you love / hate?   
> LET ME KNOW!

Previously...

          Eden was wearing a black midi skirt and a lime green criss-cross crop top; which allowed some a portion of her skin exposed, giving the whole outfit a very fierce vibe. Her long red hair was curled and she had on brown heeled sandals.

           “Thanks Barry, you don’t look so bad yourself.” She responds with a smile so sincere.

          Eddie then hurriedly walks up to them, “4 tickets to ...” He stops short at the sight of Eden.

          “Eddie Thawne?!” Eden asks shockingly.

          “Eden?!” Eddie poses surprisingly.   

                                                   THE LONGEST RIDE

 

          Iris and Barry are colored with surprise. They watch as the apparent reunion unfolds in awe and surprise. Eddie and Eden are now hugging. Eddie then slowly turns to Iris and notices the surprised look on her face.

          “Eden and I were next door neighbors growing up... that is, until I went off to college.” Eddie explains with a nonchalant smile.

          “Yeah, Eddie was basically the boy next door every teenage girl in the neighborhood wanted to jump.” She declares as she nods and smirks at Iris and Barry.

          Iris couldn’t help but laugh. “It really is a small world huh?” She says as she rubs Eddies shoulders.

          At the sight of this, Barry awkwardly diverts his attention elsewhere. He had tried his hardest to bury that gut wrenching – cringe worthy jealous feeling in the depths of his essence. Unfortunately, it had a mind of its own.

          He quickly announces, “The movie’s going to start any second now. We better... get inside.” It comes out way too nonchalant that even Eden could sense Barry’s discomfort in the moment.

          “Yeah, I’ve been dying to see this movie. Shall we?” Eden turns to Barry and offers her arm to him with an engaging smirk glued to her face.

           Barry links his arm with hers as they escorted each other down the movie theatre hallway.

As she witnessed the two, Iris felt a little jolt in her stomach. It felt a little like butterflies. No. Butterflies are supposed to feel weird, but they also feel exciting and ... kinda nice. This feeling was different. It was completely new to her and she hated how it made her feel. She didn’t understand Barry is her friend and she wants him to move on and be happy. She reassures herself a few times in the hopes that this disgusting feeling would go away but it keeps barking for release inside her.

Barry could practically feel Iris watching them as Eden; out of nowhere, delicately snuggled up into his shoulder as they walked away. Barry had to admit; at least to himself, that it felt good. It felt really good knowing that she was watching. It felt nice that this time, he wasn’t the one who was watching from afar. It was nice knowing that there was the slightest possibility that she might actually care that he was getting close to someone other than her. A certain relief washed over him as he realized the possibility that Iris might have had those feelings all along.

He swiftly came to the assumption that all it took to pull them out was the possibility of him moving on with another girl.

When they finally got to theatre 7, the girls where sandwiched between the guys as they settled down. Eddie on Iris right and Barry on Eden’s left.

There was an instant of silence before Eddie cluelessly cracks the ice.

“Alright, I’m just going to come right out and ask the question that’s probably on Barry’s mind as well.”

Those words seemed to put a giant stop sign at Iris’ windpipe. It felt like her survival instinct to breathe was no longer at her disposal. Simultaneously, chills and shivers went down her skin and spinal cord. She would’ve sworn her heart stopped for a few seconds.

Barry, just inches away from her turned his gaze towards her. She didn’t have to look to know he was staring intensely at her.

Eddie leans forward to face Iris and Eden. His face painted with curiosity and confusion takes a deep breath and poses.

“Can you girls pleaseee explain to us what on God’s green earth you find fascinating or ... ummmm ...sexy, about cowboys?”

Iris could feel her respiratory system rebooting and her heart pounding once again. Relief washed over her as she attempts a casual giggle but fails drastically. It plays out as pretentious and it seemed only Barry of the three had noticed.

“I mean, first of all, their accent is so pretentious, and they are always covered in dirt, they probably smell like farm animals and produce. They’re always sweaty, and on a lucky day, their shirts are in one piece. Oh and don’t even get me started on those ridiculous boots and hats. The flannels, I dig – pun unintended but...”

Eddie rants on. He still can’t believe Iris convinced him to watch _The Longest Ride_ after he had been so thankful to all his gods that she hated _The Notebook._

No one could ever understand how amused and surprised he was when she had told him, “Hate it!” after he had attempted to converse about the sole common interest all his past girlfriends seemed to have. Counting all his past relationships, he could confidently admit to sleeping through the movie about uh ... umpteen times.

“Honestly, it was a challenge trying to stay awake for the first 30 minutes.” Iris had continued.

Iris found Eddie smiling uncontrollable. She couldn’t help but smile as well. “What?” She giggled. She loved the vulnerability he had in his eyes whenever he got elated.

“Shit, I think I might love you Iris West.” Eddie thought to himself as he flashed a huge grin and giggle at her.

“Nothing.” He had replied, as he took her hand across the table and continued to stare straight into her soul.

He thought he had dodged that bullet; well, that is ... until now.

“Okay, name one movie that did not live up to my hype.” She questions Eddie. “Sweetheart, its only part of what I do every day at my job so, you trust me now?” Iris reassures him.

Eden turns to Eddie and sees that he’s still hesitating. “Eddie, try this. Imagine everything you described about cowboys... but this time, imagine all those qualities on cowgirls.” Eden proposes with a smirk all over her face.

The epiphany hits Eddie right there. “Wow! I never quite thought ... I never thought about it that way!” He is so intrigued by this discovery that he starts to picture Iris in a cowgirl outfit / costume. He tries but he can’t hide his grin.

Iris notices and turns to Eden playfully, “Uhhh.. Eden, don’t go putting unrealistic ideas in his head.”

Barry too found himself starting to imagine iris in daisy dukes, knotted up flannel shirts, cowgirl boots and cowgirl ha...“NO!” He caught himself in the act. “She is your best friend and you need to move on. No...” he paused his thoughts. “You HAVE to move on.” Like a wounded dog, all he could do was allow the pain to explore every inch of his being.

Luckily, the movie began and everyone began to quiet down. He prayed that no one witnessed this vulnerable side of him. But to his dismay, someone did.

The look on Barry’s face was one Eden could not have described to save a life. All she could see when she looked at Barry was pain and brokenness. She thought it best to allow him the space he so clearly needed.

 Five minutes into the movie, she gives up. She tries focusing on the movie. But displayed before her eyes was Barry’s earlier countenance.

Out of the blue, she slowly reaches over and holds his right hand which was settled on the armrest. She doesn’t look his way but instead pretends to be focused on the movie.

 Barry turns to her. But all he sees is a very nonchalant look on her face.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Began writing this in the summer but never got around to finishing it. Thought to just share it and hopefully get some inspiring feedback that would encourage me to continue. Hope you enjoy it!   
> What do you love / hate?   
> LET ME KNOW!


	7. "Looks Like Love."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't do spoilers. You're welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you! Thank you so much for coming back :)
> 
> I created an interactive SPOTIFY PLAYLIST that emotes the tone/feels of this chapter! 
> 
> So, listen and feel free to add your own songs to the mix!
> 
> "LOOKS LIKE LOVE" Playlist by Janice Ak 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/surfturff17/playlist/2OlJkFqFfAVALhqIQyxIz3

 

 

Previously...

 

Barry too found himself starting to imagine iris in daisy dukes, knotted up flannel shirts, cowgirl boots and cowgirl ha...“NO!” He caught himself in the act. “She is your best friend and you need to move on. No...” he paused his thoughts. “You HAVE to move on.” Like a wounded dog, all he could do was allow the pain to explore every inch of his being.

Luckily, the movie began and everyone began to quiet down. He prayed that no one witnessed this vulnerable side of him. But to his dismay, someone did.

The look on Barry’s face was one Eden could not have described to save a life. All she could see when she looked at him was pain and brokenness. She thought it best to allow him the space he so clearly needed.

Five minutes into the movie, she gives up. She tries focusing on the movie. But displayed before her eyes was Barry’s earlier countenance.

Out of the blue, she slowly reaches over and holds his right hand which was settled on the armrest. She doesn’t look his way but instead pretends to be focused on the movie.

Barry turns to her. But all he sees is a very nonchalant look on her face.

 

* * *

_“Looks like Love”_

**30 Minutes Later**

The theatre was filled with numerous Awww’s and Ahhh’s coming from every teenage girl and their mother.

Iris had to admit, she loved every single thing about this movie so far; including the very healthy fix of clichés portrayed in several scenes.

She was snuggling into Eddie’s broad chest as she indulged in the intimate time they were spending together.

From time to time, he would plant a kiss on the crown of her head, rub her shoulders, and check to see if she was warm and comfortable. In response, she would intertwine their hands, bring it up to her lips and plants a kiss on his hands. She would then look up just to find him blushing; thus, defying the darkness they were in.

Eddie still never got over the fact that Iris was his. Ever since she came into his life, it’s felt like the sun shines just a little brighter and water tastes just a little sweeter each passing day. He wakes up every morning with a smile on his lips and a little pep in every step.

Before her, he was just a regular guy going through the daily motions of life and not caring about anything else but his work. He would go on dates his very high maintenance parents arranged just so they would stop worrying and questioning his mental state. Most of the girls they set him up with were spoiled, snobbish daddies little girls who never worked a day in their lives. He finally told his parents to quit when one of the girls had requested another waiter because the one assigned to them wasn’t the right color.

Although his parents were the nicest, sweetest, most hospitable people you could ever meet, their pompous boastful friends were the exact opposite. He’s had to deal with a lot of ignorant shitty people who thought their mansions, million dollar cars, and net worth made them superior to every other being in the world. For this reason, he made it his mission to succeed and earn a living completely separate and far away from his hometown. He strived to become a cop just so he could serve and somehow be an advocate for those less fortunate enough to have a voice in the classist society he’s lived in his whole life.

Since meeting Iris, her positive, cheerful and encouraging attitude has rubbed off on him. She balances out his every mischief with love, kindness and serenity. He is simply the best version of himself with her in his life. Just looking at her brings him unexplainable joy and he doesn’t want that to end. Ever.

“I love you.” He whispers in her ear. He was scared shitless just uttering the words.  He didn’t even care if she said it back. All he knew was he had to say it right then and there.

She turns to him with an adorable smile plastered on her lips. She then slowly moves her lips to the left corner of his mouth and whispers, “Love you back...” She lets her warm breath linger for a moment and then slowly concludes, “Eddsterrrr!”

She knew he hated that nickname. He is just always so serious that pressing his buttons is the one way she can get him to lighten up, think less, and just...be.

He quickly starts bickering “You kno-..” before he finishes, she hops on his lap, wraps her arms around his neck and presses her lips to his mouth. At first, the kiss was sweet and painfully slow. Within seconds, it escalated and got really passionate and heated. Her hands were in his blonde hair and his were exploring her lower back. They completely ignored the fact that they were in public and completely focused on each other.

“Get a room!” A female voice yells from behind them.

They slowly part their grinning lips and uncontrollably start giggling under their breaths. A middle aged lady with thick rimmed glasses turns to them with an angry look, “SHHHHHHUSH!”

“We are officially ‘That Couple’ everyone hates on at movie theatres”, Iris whispers in his ear and giggles some more as she slowly turns to her left just to find the two seats beside her empty.

Eddie was still trying to process what just happened when she turns to him with a confused look on her face. He turns to the empty seats.

“Don’t freak out just yet, I saw him leave with Eden 10 minutes into the movie. I just assumed they needed some time alone... you know, on their date?” He explains.

“Oh... Of course, they ARE on a date after all.” She affirms. For some reason, it came out sounding like she was trying to convince herself.

“Yeah, they are.” Eddie laughs, “You think they hit it off?” Eddie asks as he slowly moves the rebellious hair that was falling down the sides of her face to the back of her ears. “There.” He whispers as he flashes her one of his signature overly sincere grins.

Although a huge part of her wanted him to move on and be happy, an iota of her being questioned whether that was what she really wanted. Of course that was what she wanted, Barry’s happiness is a priority and if Eden gives him that, she had no choice but to be glad for him.

“Let’s just hope Barry hasn’t resorted to his archive of ‘classic Eureka jokes’. Knowing Eden, he’s in good company.” Iris smiles as she reassured Eddie; although, it felt more like she was the one that needed the assurance.

They tried focusing on the movie and attempting to figure out what they had missed. At this point, they were so lost that they just decided to leave the theatre and find Barry and Eden.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Eden had offered to get Barry out of the theatre when she could literally feel his hurt. They scurried down the dark hallway without alarming Iris or Eddie about their whereabouts. They they found an empty theatre that was playing _The Hunger Games._

Eden turns to Barry, “Center?” Barry Smiles at her, “Heck yeah!”

They start hate watching as they throw critical remarks at the top of their voices. They find themselves laughing really hard and having an overall great time. Turned out an empty movie theater was all he needed to take a break from thinking about Iris. He hadn’t thought about her in almost 30 minutes. That was a record. He wished Cisco was there to congratulate him. He couldn’t wait to tell him. Of course he would point out the fact that Barry bringing up the fact was still clearly a sign of weakness and that if he truly was getting over her, he wouldn’t have to keep track of time.

“Thanks for this, Eden.” He turns to her sincerely. “I really appreciate you trying to cheer me up. I’m so sorry I ruined our date.”

“It’s no big deal; believe it or not, I’ve been on date’s way worse than this.” She tries reassuring him with a cute grin forming around her lips.

“Oh Really?” Barry questions surprisingly, slowly catching the hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“No!” She bursts into laughter. “Who would’ve thought anything could top THE ‘Flip flop surfer dude’? Eden explains. “He even had sand in his hair...’n everywhere and smelled like rotting fish.” She starts reminiscing as they both burst into laughter.

“And how could I not mention the fact that he brought his own ice box of fish to the restaurant for the chefs to grill. I can still smell the stink just thinking about it.” She continues as their laughter slowly turned to soft giggles.

Barry counteracts, “But this wasn’t exactly all bad right? I really enjoyed just talking to you.” He sincerely discloses.

Eden nervously runs her fingers through her auburn locks. “Yeah... it... it wasn’t all bad.” Eden slowly confirms. Her mind was filled with wonder. She was curious as to what was going on in Barry’s head as he flashed an endearing smile. At first, she considered his nerdy, nice guy essence only cute. But, actually getting to know him on a deeper level and being alone with him in a dark lit theatre changed all that. God he was hot. She thought to herself.

It became palpably quiet that she quickly shifted in her seat to slowly release tension.

In doing so, her phone which was seated on her lap almost fell to the floor but Barry hurriedly used his speed to catch it in mid air.

He turns to face her, “That was cl-..” Before he could finish, Eden quickly leaned in and kissed him.

Completely taken by surprise, Barry slowly shifts his face to the side and whispers to the corners of her mouth, “Sorry...”

Eden, completely embarrassed and red as her hair turns her face to the opposite side and apologizes, “I’m sorry, I guess I read the mood wrong.”

“No, it’s all me, Eden.” Barry starts. “I just can’t right now. It would be cruel and unfair to you.” He takes her hand in his and tilts her face towards him. “You are so breathtakingly beautiful and amazing. Any guy would be lucky to have you but-”.

“But you’re still in love with Iris.” She finishes his sentence for him.

“What?!” He tries defending himself. “I am NOT in love with Iris. I have a few... some...feelings for her but...” Eden gives him a very knowing look.

“Okay, I have very strong feelings for her. I wouldn’t quite call it love. It’s just-” He gives up when he sees that Eden isn’t buying what he’s trying so hard to sell with his face blushed red.

“Trust me; any stranger within 5ft of you two could easily believe that you are a couple. Barry, just denying it doesn’t change the fact that you can’t stand her being with Eddie even though you know she’s happy with him. And the looks you give her when she’s not looking? That, Barry, looks and sounds like love to me.

“I g-”

“There you guys are! We’ve been looking for you two...” Iris quickly notices their intertwined hands and stops short in her tracks.

Barry realizes this and quickly concludes that using his speed to move his hands from Eden’s is not an option. Plus, he kind of enjoyed seeing just how flustered this little gesture made her.

Eden leans into his ear and whispers, “For the record, Iris doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

Barry gives her a smile that showed he appreciated her gesture.

“We were just about to head out but Iris insisted we check on you two first.” Eddie explains.

“Oh we were just about to leave as well.” Eden leads the way.

They all walk out to the exit. In realizing it was freezing out, Barry quickly insisted Eden take his jacket. She reluctantly gives in and takes it.

Iris couldn’t comprehend why this bothered her so much. She quickly brushed it off and hugged Eden goodbye when Barry quickly found her a cab.

Barry then bid the couple goodbye and insisted on walking home in the cold.

“You can’t be serious Barr. You’ll freeze your butt off!” Iris argued.

“It wouldn’t be the first time now, would it?” He remarks, thus reminding her of the time she had dared him to sit on the Snowman they had made until it completely melted. He had done exactly that and Joe had had to take him to the hospital from the frostbite he got.

Iris was grounded for months and Barry blamed himself for that. He didn’t care that he had to sleep on his stomach for weeks. Iris on the other hand found it ridiculously funny that he actually did it. She couldn’t keep a straight face when Joe had yelled and grounded her.

“Hey, we promised not to ever bring that up again!” Iris playfully punched his arm trying to hide her laughter.

Eddie constantly found himself in the middle of their inside jokes. He had since given up on asking for them for details.

Iris gives Barry a tight hug and kisses him goodbye on the corner of his mouth.

Why did she do that? She had never done that before? These two questions appeared in the minds of both Iris and Barry.

This gesture drove him literally so crazy that he couldn’t even dare look her in the eyes when he said, “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

He then walked ridiculously fast down the street and when he was out of their sight, he sped off. He shortly found himself in his bed breathing very rapidly and vibrating uncontrollably.

* * *

 

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER!

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	8. "Barry's Dirty Little Secret."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry struggles to deal with what happened between him and Iris with the “help” of Cisco & Caitlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while so PLEASE, feel free to go back and reread the previous chapters.
> 
> Oh, you're good? Ok, Heeeerrrree wweeee gooooo :) 
> 
> p.s leave a trail of thoughts pweeze :}

 

**PREVIOUSLY...**

Iris gives Barry a tight hug and kisses him goodbye; pressing her lips excruciatingly close to the left corner of his mouth. 

Why did she do that? Had she ever done it before? These two questions appeared in the minds of both Iris and Barry. 

This gesture drove him literally so crazy that he couldn't even dare look her in the eyes when he replied, "Yeah, see you tomorrow." 

He then walked ridiculously fast down the street and when sure he was out of their sight, he used his power to speed off .

Shortly, he found himself in bed breathing very rapidly and vibrating uncontrollably.

**Part 8**

Iris spent the entire car ride home with Eddie questioning what she had just done and why. The entire scenario played on repeat in her mind as she constantly tried to analyze what could have pushed her to kiss Barry so close to his lips.

In the midst of all her confusion, one thing was clear. She loved how she could literally feel him tense up the second her lips collided with the bridge between his jaw and parted mouth. 

She could've sworn she saw him gradually close his eyes for at least a second before quickly bowing his head down in embarrassment and backing away from her. Then, he refused to meet her eyes as he hurriedly vanished into the night.

After trying really hard and failing to suppress that warm bubbly feeling in the pit of her stomach, Iris finally admitted it. A part of her found pleasure in knowing she had the ability to make Barry Allen squirm under something so simple and small as her touch. 

Consequently, she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind as he quickly sped off into the darkness. Will this make things even more complicated and awkward between them? 

She had always viewed herself as very self - aware and most importantly, immensely self - disciplined. No matter the situation, she always took responsibility for all her actions. The belief that she had complete and utter control over her life was at the very center of her core. 

But this, what she did, goes against all of it. 

What was even more disturbing was the possibility that Eddie might have witnessed the whole thing. Needless to say, the guilt was eating her alive.

 What the fuck was wrong with her? She questioned.

NEXT DAY 

Barry has been sitting on the roof for almost an hour now. More specifically, he has been sitting on the roof of Jitters debating whether or not he was ready to face Iris just yet. It's getting pretty late in the day and he still can't believe she hasn't called him all day. He hasn't heard from her since last night; not even a text or a ditzy _Snapchat_ message. No nothing.

It was strange for him. Never in the entirety of their friendship had they gone a whole day without communicating. Iris usually initiates the conversation and he unfailingly always responds. No matter where he was - no matter what he was doing. It was like second nature to them.

Earlier that morning, Barry had gone to Star Labs like he usually did every Saturday. All he wished for was to forget the whole thing even happened. There were so many reasons why he still couldn't bring himself to accept it.

But, one thing was apparent. He couldn't dismiss the way he felt having her lips that close. The feeling was more than euphoric; nothing close to what he had imagined it would be like to have her lips be that close to his.

Cisco was in the process of describing the many mischievous capabilities of the new meta human they were hunting down when he slowly began to notice Barry's aloof countenance. 

"Did you just hear me say he can SHAPE SHIFT?!" Cisco yells the latter two as he snaps his fingers loudly at him.

Confused, Barry shakes his head and looks up to face him. "I'm sorry, I just got a little distracted. So, ... shape shifting huh? Go on." He urged.

"Uhm, yeaaahhhh. No." Cisco starts. "Not until you tell me exactly what has you... _Norman Bates_ blackout distracted." Cisco inquires with his signature sass.  

"It can't be this oh so mesmerizing Bunsen Burner so, spill it!" Cisco points out when he sees Barry start to shrug. In addition, he also noticed the almost barely noticeable grin on his face.

Cisco purposely stayed silent to see his reaction.

Obviously getting very uncomfortable, Barry questioned. "What?!"

 A second later, he resorted to fidgeting with his hands and looking everywhere else but at his friend.

"Mmmmmhhh, okay." Cisco digests the entire scene that just unfolded before his eyes. 

"Please, feel free to correct me at any point." He takes a deep breath and begins. "So, last night, you had a date. No. Forgive me. You had a double date with... " he tries to recall, "the redhead, Eddie and Iris."

Barry interjects as he nervously ruffles his his fingers through his hair. "Actually, her name is Eden annnnnd... it was uh, more of a 'group hang'." 

"Potato - PotAto, that is besides the point. Moving on." Cisco continues. 

"And... today, you come here all... I don't even know how to describe that look you had earlier." He pauses. "Put two and two together and..." Cisco reaches across the desk for a black marker and runs up to the transparent board covered with numerous equations. Without a single gleam of hesitation, he wipes it all off and writes, "= YOU MR. ALLEN, GOT LAID!"

"Cisc..." Barry attempts to counteract Cisco's rash conclusion but he doesn't budge just yet.

"Oh Barry, I'm just getting started." Cisco immediately starts to viciously reassure him. 

He was then cut short by the clucking sound of high heels getting louder and closer. Shortly, Caitlin walked in. She then gave the two a puzzled look as she continued strutting towards them.

"'=YOU MR. ALLEN, GOT LAID!'" Caitlin reads out loud as she walks past the two. 

In a sarcastic undertone, she remarks. "Yet, people still wonder why Star Lab's is named the most revolutionary and innovative scientific tech facility in the world." 

Immediately, Barry flashes past her to get to the board. Seconds later, it was completely blank.

"Ok! This has gone way too far." Barry lets out. "Cisco, stop making senseless conclusions. nothing happened last night! Okay? NOTHING. For heaven's sake. How old are we? Please, can we just get back to finding this Shape Shifting Psycho already?" Barry tries to assure them as he points to Cisco's computer.

Immediately after his statement, Cisco and Caitlin share a knowing look and smile. 

Caitlin's eyes widen. "Ok, SOMETHING definitely happened!!!" 

"Dude, you can't just leave us high and dry like this." Cisco whined.

"What are you guys talking about? I literally didn't say anything." Barry reminds him as he raises his hand in a surrendering stance.  

Cisco casually blurts out and winks. "So..., Eden huh?" 

He closely monitors Barry's reaction. 

"Eden?! As in Iris' red headed roommate from college?" Surprised, Caitlin inquires.

Barry quickly jumped in. "No!!!!! I'll say it one last time. I did not sleep with anyone last night. Okay? The movie ended, we said our goodbyes and we all went home. - SEPARATELY!" He emphasized the latter.

Caitlin turns to Cisco, "Uh, that was overly defensive for a guy who just went home ..." Caitlin pauses just to meet Barry's eyes.

 "Don't even sweat it." She turns and starts walking towards her desk as she whistles suspiciously. She sits down, tilts her head to the left and smiles over at the guys. She then reaches for her phone.

Equally as confused as Barry was watching her, Cisco poses, "Cait, whatcha doing?" 

Caitlin answers without acknowledging them. "Oh, you know, just calling up a very good friend of mine to ask about Barry's dirty little secret. Barry. You might actually know her-"

Barry was hovering over her in a millisecond. "Caitlin stop! Please? You can't call Iris." 

Barry's reaction to Caitlin possibly calling up his best friend quickly got Cisco to come to a very stunning conclusion.

"Duuuuude!!! You Did Not!" Cisco rushes up to him and stared directly in his eyes. 

It took Caitlin a second because the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. But soon enough, she was at the same junction. 

Caitlin punches Cisco's arm. "Of course he didn't. No way! Right? Tell him Barry." She looks up at him seriously. 

With both eyes clearly judging him, he finally exclaims. "Nooooo! Of course not!" Barry continuously shook his head; clearly horrified that they would think he was that kind of guy.

"Hah! Told ya." Caitlin turns to Cisco as she bragged. "I might have only known Iris for less than a year now but I can swear on my life that the girl is nothing close to a cheater. One would expect a girl that gorgeous to be very superficial and just plain bitchy. But Iris, she's like the polar opposite of that." Caitlin thinks out loud.

Clearly anxious, Barry lets out a soft giggle and slowly starts pacing while rubbing the back of his neck. "Why do you think I'm so fucking in love with her?!" 

Quickly, he realizes what he just said.

Cisco sprints towards him throws his arm around his shoulders and shakes him rapidly. "Ladies & Gents, he finally admits it! Did you hear that Cait!? Barry Allen is a man 'in love'!"

 "Wow, guys are slow." She quietly remarks.

Barry nervously smiles at the realization. He was in love with her. Has always been. He had just been so scared of jeopardizing their friendship that he had subconsciously deleted the word from his vocabulary. But after what happened last night, it became as lucid as dawn.

"Something must've happened between you two then. Cait, you needed to be here to see the smitten look he had on his face earlier." Cisco pressed on.

"Come on Barry, it's just us! You can tell us anything." Caitlin reassures him.

Barry takes a deep breath. And nervously runs his hand through his hair. "Fine!" 

Barry narrates how the night went in excruciating detail. He also mentions the fact that Eden and Eddie know each other. But then, he spent so much time describing Iris' appearance and grinning like a moron that Caitlin had to say something to encourage him to get to the point.

"Sorry." He apologizes and continues to telling them about Eden kissing him and the expression on Iris' face when she had seen them holding hands. 

"She looked jealous?" Caitlin carefully poses. 

"I'm not sure. She just quietly drifted off and stared at the floor for a few seconds. After, she smiled at me. But..., but it didn't look candid. It looked like she was trying to hide... something."

Barry felt like he was reading too much into it so he digresses. "It doesn't matter."

Casually and speedily he discloses the goodbye incident and hastily turns his back to them to hide his blushed red cheeks. "I know. I'm reading way to much into it. It is very possible that I might have moved a little bit to the left .. no, maybe right... uhh... I'm not quite sure but not knowing is literally torture." 

He pauses. "I mean, the whole thing has been on replay in my brain ever since. What is definitely not helping is the fact that we haven't talked since. It's almost 7pm and still. Nothing! I'm getting really worried. He slowly lets his imagination enslave his thoughts.

With eyes still wide open as their jaws fell, his two friends quietly take it all in. Caitlin was the first to break the silence.

 "So, fucking CALL HER!"  She literally pushes him as she yells.

"What? No! We have a system. She always calls, trust me!" Barry declined as he tries to reassure her. But Cisco and Caitlin could immediately tell as Barry scratched his neck that even he had some doubts about the fact."

Cisco turns around and heads to his desk. Barry and Caitlin watch in confusion as to what he might be doing.

"According to Google, Jitters closes in 2hrs. So... I'm kicking you out. Go!" He grabs Barry's black windbreaker and shoves it in his hands. "You need to fucking confront her about this. Look at you. You have been completely aloof from the moment you walked in here. Go. We'll cover for you if Dr. Wells notices. Chap chap, out you go!" Cisco pushes him into the elevator and presses the close button before Barry could even open his mouth to argue.

Shortly, he found himself standing outside the transparent double doors which had the famous CC Jitters logo engraved on the plane glass looking in. He turned and glanced at his phone to check the time. It was 7:17pm. He began to look for her amongst the other baristas. 

Right away, he saw her slender silhouette walk out of the back room. He just froze in place as he watched her struggle with putting on her black apron. For some reason, he found her to be absolutely sexy in her Jitters apron. There was just something about how it hugged her lean frame that he couldn't get over.

 Really, it was amazing how often he still got mesmerized by her beauty.

"Haaaaryyy, is it?" The sound of a slightly familiar voice broke him out of the trance he so clearly was in.

Thank You!

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	9. "I guess, I love not knowing."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris finally come to terms with the obvious tension between them. Iris tells Barry about a plan that involves Eddie which leaves Barry face to face with the dilemma of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> The Flash S3 premieres TODAY! at 8pm. I'm readieeerrrrr than readyy!
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> Like, comment, vote and let me know what u think :D 
> 
> Hope you enjoye this Chapter!
> 
> XsplendidjanieX

Previously....

Right away, he saw her slender silhouette walk out of the back room. He just froze in place as he watched her struggle with putting on her black apron. For some reason, he found her to be absolutely sexy in her Jitters apron. There was just something about how it hugged her lean frame that he couldn't get over.

Really, it was amazing how often he still got mesmerized by her beauty.

"Haaaaryyy, is it?" The sound of a slightly familiar voice broke him out of the trance he so clearly was in.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Barry turned to see a tall brunette smiling at him. "You're Iris' friend right?"

Barry looked confused. 

"Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Kendra. Kendra Saunders. We're coworkers; Iris and I." The brunette extends her hand with the widest smile plastered on her face.

Worried that she might have noticed him obviously checking Iris out, he nervously shakes her hand "Nice to meet you. And... it's actually Barry." He lets outs a nervous chuckle.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," she apologizes, "Barry. Got it!" She paused for a second before offering. "Would you like me to let Iris know you're out here? It's Saturday, which is basically our slowest day of the week. I'm sure she can spare a few minutes." She kindly proposes.

Barry struggled to find a possible excuse as to why he could have been loitering outside of Jitters.

"Or ... you could come back in a couple of hours. She's in charge of closing shop today." Kendra suggests clearly noting his uncomfortable countenance. 

Of course Barry knew that. Before the coma, he usually stopped by after work to help her close shop. Sometimes, he would make sure to finish his lab work early just so he could stop by Jitters .

Still unsure and nervous, Barry responds. "I'll probably just stop by later then. Thanks."

"No problem! I'm gotta get back but, it was really nice meeting you, Barry." Kendra smiles as she opens the door and slides into Jitters.

Fast forward 2hrs later, here he was. 

Feet dangling off the edge of the roof as he watched all the cars in the parking lot slowly drift off to blend into the night traffic. Except for one. 

As he got up, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out to just to see a text from Cisco which read, 

"God speed brother, or dare I say, Flash speed... doesn't matter. YOU'VE GOT THIS BRO!"

Barry shoved the phone back in his pocket. He knew Cisco's intentions were purely good but honestly, the text only added to his nerves. It just reminded him that he was keeping this huge secret from her. He felt bad for blatantly looking her in the eye and lying to her face the night she made him promise he wasn't and wouldn't keep anymore secrets from her.

"Keeping my Flash identity from her keeps her safe." This was the mantra he constantly repeated to stop himself from telling her. He would repeated the mantra several times until he completely convinced himself it was true. The truth of cause was he didn't want to think about what he would do if she was ever in danger. The truth? It was more about his sanity than it was about her safety.

In a flash, he was back at the entrance of Jitters. He peeked in just to find Iris struggling to carry a huge tray of what looked like pastries, to the back room.

He decides to count down. As a kid, he used this method numerous time. It helped him make hard decisions and do scary things without pondering too hard on them. In a way, it was like ripping off a bandaid. He shut his eyes and began whispering, "five, four, three, two o-" 

He was interrupted by his phone abruptly ringing. He growls in frustration "Cisssccoooo!" He opens his eyes as he struggles to take it out of his pocket. He finally succeeds. He speedily reaches for the off button but freezes.

CALLER ID: "IRIS"

He looks up to see Iris coming out of the back room with her phone to her ear. Meanwhile, his phone was still ringing alarmingly loud. Was it too late to run? He debated.

To his dismay, Iris had already heard the sound coming from the front and had immediately recognized his ringtone. She wrinkled her forehead in surprise as she dashed towards the door and reached for the lock to open it.

She smiles, "I thought I heard your "Asgard" ringtone." She then motions with her head as she holds the door open for him. "Come on in! I could really use the muscle."

Barry gives her a sly smile as he entered the store.

"You're late." Iris casually mentions since Barry wouldn't utter a word.   
He forces himself out of the shocked state he was in and replies, "um, I just had a couple of things to take care of." He vaguely disclosed.

Iris walked past him and went behind the counter. As if things weren't bad enough, Barry could tell she was trying to avoid having any eye contact with him.

She starts, "Sorry I didn't call or text all day. I've-"

Barry cuts her off, "It's fine. Now, what do you need me to do?" 

He attempts to drive the conversation off the tracks that would lead to the night before. Did he want to find out if Iris felt the same way he did when she kissed him goodbye? Did he want to confirm once and for all that it all wasn't just going on in his head? Yes. He really did want to know if there was a trifling chance that Iris had feelings for him. But he had to admit to himself that the thought of having those feelings not reciprocated by Iris was scarier than anything he could imagine. This same fear has crippled him since they were kids and it still had its shackles on his brain till this day. To him, he could easily handle the doubt of not knowing; for heavens sake, he's done it all his life; than the possibility of losing the love of his life.

Morbidly, he loved not knowing.

Iris lifted her head to meet his eyes for a second before quickly diverting her attention to the sink next to her. "I'm almost pretty much finished but you can help dry the blenders after I wash."

She starts pumping dish soap into the blender. Barry makes his way behind the counter and stands next to her.

He hadn't noticed before but now, he became fully aware of the indie music playing on the overhead speakers. 

I can't believe I wasted all of this time on you.

I can't believe I have to sit around and watch what you do.

That all changed when I met Lucy.

That all changed, you'll see.

"So, last night. You & Eden sneaking off into a dark theater... all alone..." Iris broke the silence as she playfully smiled & nudged Barry in the ribs. He could tell she was hinting for him to tell her more.

The image of Barry holding Eden's hand still haunted her. Unlike Barry, she was aching to know if they had done ... you know? More.

Was she Jealous? Barry couldn't help but question the faint look of fear hidden behind her eyes.

A normal guy would have straight up asked if she really was jealous. Only, that just wasn't Barry Allen. Although it damn near killed him not to, he knew he had to respect her relationship with Eddie. He knew, he had to respect her wishes. He did not want to increase the already extremely palpable awkwardness between them. Or even worse, scare her away. He just wasn't going to take that chance.

He had done the hard part; at least that was what he thought. She knows how he feels. But looking back, a huge part of him wishes he hadn't because now, he lives everyday with the gut wrenching fear of loosing her. He viewed every second he spent with her as a possibility for him to maybe say or do something he would regret forever. So, he took some time to carefully curate a response to her question.

He turned to face her but noticed she had shifted her attention to the dishes she was now intensely cleaning.

"We had fun hate watching the Hunger Game. You were right. She's really nice." He utters.

A few seconds passed as he waited for her to say something.

"Isn't she?!" Enthused, Iris finally added. Only, all her focus was on cleaning.

He waited a few seconds before adding.

" Yeah, she really is. Also, she ... sort - of - kissed me." Barry found himself disclosing.

The blender she had been rinsing dropped to the floor as she turned to face him.

He intensely held her gaze. None of them acknowledging the now wet and soapy floor. 

 

She said "Hurt People Hurt People", yeah.

She said "Hurt People Hurt People", yeah.

She said "Hurt People Hurt People", yeah.

 

The overhead speakers kept playing in the background as what felt like 8 seconds passed; with the two still locking eyes fiercely.

"But, I stopped her. I uh... I told her I was still trying to get over..."

"...someone."

She didn't know what to do; let alone what to say . The music seemed to have stopped as silence creeped in.

She was first to break eye contact. 

"Forget I said anything." Barry added without moving his gaze from her.

"Barrr...--" She started, not really knowing what was going to come out of her mouth.

"---no, really." Barry interrupted. "I don't even know why I just told you that." He backed up and leaned against the counter as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

She stood still, closely watching her best friend beat up himself. And worst of all, she realized it was all because of her. Barry was broken all because of her. One thing Iris was sure of was that she was ready to do anything to take it all away.

"I should probably leave now." Barry said as he picked up his jacket and started walking past her.

As he brushed past her, she immediately turned and wrapped her arms around his waist as she hugs him from the back.

She pressed her left cheek against his back in silence.

Barry stood there for a couple of seconds before turning to face her. She doesn't lessen her grip on him. Now her cheek took rest on his chest.

He gently embraced her. Thus, bringing her frame closer to his.

They stay this way for a couple of minutes; taking in each other's warmth and scent. Their hugs were special to them. All the guilt, all the pain and all the awkwardness seemed to slowly evaporate.

"I just want us to get back to normal." Barry quietly whispered in her ear.

"Do you think thats possible?" He continued.

"Honestly, I don't know. But, I'm not going anywhere Barry Allen." She then lifts her head to look up at him. "Don't you forget that."

She then turns her back to him. "Apron." She motions to the ropes.

Barry helps her undo the knot. He then moves the hair falling on her back to one side to easily remove her apron. Iris could feel his warm breath grazing over her neck. Before she knew it, she was tilting her neck further to the right. From the back, Barry could see the hairs on her neck rise for a second.

Did HE do that? He couldn't help but grin.

Iris quickly caught herself. She turned and gave him a quick "thanks!" before seizing the apron and and running to the back room.

*Iris' phone starts ringing* 

Barry locates it on the counter and picks it up. He sees the Caller ID - Eden.

"Who is it?" Iris comes out and starts walking towards him.

"Eden." He hands it to her.

Iris puts it on speaker. "Hey Eden! whats going on? I'm here with Barry and you're on speaker." She gives Barry a reassuring smile.

"Heyyyy you two." Eden responded slyly.

Although she was embarrassed for a quick second when Barry didn't reciprocate her kiss, she now fully understood why. He was madly in love with her best friend. She respected Barry for not using her as a rebound. 

She knew Barry was one of the good guys and she was more than supportive of him winning over her best friends heart. She had nothing against Iris' relationship with Eddie. But compared to Barry, the way Iris talked about Eddie just didn't par up. Anyone with two eyes and a working brain could easily tell she was blindly in love with him.

"Isn't it a little too late in the evening to be in an empty restaurant with another man other than your boyfriend Ms. West? Now, what would Eddie think?" Eden couldn't help but tease viciously.

"Shut up Red!" Iris giggled nervously as she fired back calling Eden by her least favorite nickname; and looking anywhere but at Barry whose cheeks were now almost crimson red. "What do you want?" Iris added.

"Alright West." Eden gave in. "You forgot to email me the invite list. Again!" 

Her eyes quickly flickered open. "Sh!te!." Iris cursed in distress as she rested her hands on her waist and paced back and forth. "Eden, i'm soooo sorry, I'll send it first thing in the morning. Promise!"

Confused, Barry inquired. "Invite list?"

Sensing the drama that was to come, Eden interrupted, "Annnndddd, that's my cue. Good luck with this one West!" She whispered the lather and quickly hung up.

Iris slowly lifted herself to sit on the cold marble counter top. When she started twiddling her thumbs, he immediately knew she was scared to tell him whatever was on her mind.

"Uhh, It's Eddie." She paused. "Eddies birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks." She explained as she gently lifted her head to look at him. "I thought it would be nice to you know, throw him a little surprise soiree for the big day." She then quickly adds, "I swear I was gonna tell you about the party."

"That sounds very fun." Barry lied.

"Barry, you don't have to come if you don't want to. You know, if its gonna be uh... I totally understand if-."

Barry interrupts, "No, I want to." He lifts himself and sits next to her on the cold counter top. He then turns to face her and replies. "Besides, Eddie and I have are slowly but definitely becoming good friends. I'm talking slumber parties and braiding each others hair. The whole shebang. We're getting there." Barry tries to prove to Iris that he was fine with attending by attempting to lighten the mood.

Iris playfully smacks his shoulder as she bursts into laughter, "Yeah,.... right!"

Barry loved the sound of her laugh. It sounded like a heavenly harp being played by a new born. So, he decides to keep going. 

"I'm telling you Iris, he'll notice if I don't show up and, probably shut down the whole thing. And, you wanna avoid that because I'm warning you, it won't look too great on your part."

Still trying to contain her laughter, she nods. "Nope, you're very right. I could never recover from that." Another burst of laughter erupted between the two.

"The best friend and the boyfriend running off together? Now that's a movie I'll pay good money to see!" Iris jumps off the counter and stands in front of Barry and looks him in the eye.

"Iris, I'm totally fine." Barry reassured her.

"Whatever you say Allen. Let's get outta here." Iris pulls his arm as he jumps off.

Iris grabbed her jacket from the coat rack and led the way as they locked up and drove home.

Barry was left with the million dollar question of his life;

What kind of present does one give their best friend's (whom he's in love with) boyfriend.

Clearly, he did not think this through. 

 

Thanks for reading! 

The Flash S3 premieres TODAY! at 8pm. I'm readieeerrrrr than readyy!

Like, comment, vote and let me know what u think :D 

Hope you enjoyed this Chapter!

XsplendidjanieX


	10. "Can't you see? I can't do this sober!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry runs out of options of trying to cope with his new reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER : I will only upload the next chapter if I get a good response from on this one. Trust me, you wanna read the next chapter ASAP! Its my favorite one so far!!!

_**Previously** _

"Uhh, It's Eddie." She paused. "Eddies birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks." She explained as she gently lifted her head to look at him. "I thought it would be nice to you know, throw him a little surprise soiree for the big day." She then quickly adds, "I swear I was gonna tell you about the party."

"That sounds very fun." Barry lied.

"Barry, you don't have to come if you don't want to. You know, if its gonna be uh... I totally understand if-."

Barry interrupts, "No, I want to." He lifts himself and sits next to her on the cold counter top. He then turns to face her and replies. "Besides, Eddie and I have are slowly but definitely becoming good friends. I'm talking slumber parties and braiding each others hair. The whole shebang. We're getting there." Barry tries to prove to Iris that he was fine with attending by attempting to lighten the mood.

Iris playfully smacks his shoulder as she bursts into laughter, "Yeah,.... right!"

Barry loved the sound of her laugh. It sounded like a heavenly harp being played by a new born. So, he decides to keep going.

"I'm telling you Iris, he'll notice if I don't show up and, probably shut down the whole thing. And, you wanna avoid that because I'm warning you, it won't look too great on your part."

Still trying to contain her laughter, she nods. "Nope, you're very right. I could never recover from that." Another burst of laughter erupted between the two.

"The best friend and the boyfriend running off together? Now that's a movie I'll pay good money to see!" Iris jumps off the counter and stands in front of Barry and looks him in the eye.

"Iris, I'm totally fine." Barry reassured her.

"Whatever you say Allen. Let's get outta here." Iris pulls his arm as he jumps off.

Iris grabbed her jacket from the coat rack and led the way as they locked up and drove home.

Barry was left with the million dollar question of his life;

**What kind of present does one give their best friend's (whom he's in love with) boyfriend.**

Clearly, he did not think this through. 

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_**"Can't you see? I can't do this sober"** _

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**DISCLAIMER :** I will only upload the next chapter if I get a good response from on this one. Trust me, you wanna read the next chapter ASAP! Its my favorite one so far!!!

Iris had it all planned. This wasn't her first party planning rodeo after all. In college, she had interned for a very prominent interior designer for a full semester. Because she solely took the position for the pay, she did not expect to enjoy the process as much as she would like to admit. She got a peculiar high from actively planning and seeing the designs slowly come to life.

"You know you have an eye for this, right?" Mrs. Delphine had mentioned one afternoon when she presented her first solo project.

Iris could have easily swept the complement under the rug but, Mrs. Delphine wasn't one to stop and acknowledge anything; especially an intern.

Since then, Iris never missed an opportunity to use her skills to make those around her feel special.

"Check!" Eden yelled from across the room. 

"Iris, we've gone over your to do list 3 times now! You have nothing to worry about." 

Eden tries to reassure Iris who currently looked like a legitimate crazy person. She had stayed up all night putting the finishing touches on the surprise party she was throwing for Eddie.

"I know, it just has to be... perfect!" Iris sighs. 

The plan was simple. The party was taking place in Eddie's childhood home; his parents house.

She hadn't exactly met his parents in person considering that they lived two cities away. She had spoken with them over a FaceTime call. Eddie had insisted it was imperative that his parents met the one person who could make him euphoric just by simply being present in his life. 

It was a little awkward at first but a few minutes in, she quickly discovered where Eddie got his impeccably humble and loving character. 

To say his parents were literally the perfect couple would be an understatement. For a second, she found herself comparing them to her own parents but thought it smart to quickly shut that chamber door before any monsters sneaked out. 

Two weeks ago, she contacted his parents for lunch and went over the plan with them. She wanted them to be there especially because they barely saw their son who spends his work days literally in the eye of danger. 

"You could use our house!" Mrs. Thorne eagerly suggested. 

Iris originally planned on hosting it at the West house but hadn't quite considered the length of the guest list. 

"Are you sure? You don't..." Iris questions. 

"Don't be silly. You are using our house. Edward hasn't been home in a while. If this is what it's going to take to bring our son home, I'm not missing out on the opportunity, Iris." 

They all share a laugh.

"You should know, he's never introduced any of his girlfriends to us in the past." Mr. Thorne chimes in. 

"Don't go embarrassing the girl now, Thomas." Mrs. Thorne interjects as she watched Iris slowly shift in her seat as she quickly sent a shy but appreciative smile their way. 

It was all set. The party was happening at the Thorne Residence. She had invited Eddie's younger sister, Gemma, a few of his college friends, the Star Labs team and some of his coworkers. 

When Iris told Gemma, she warned her surprising Eddie was going to take a lot of hard work. She had figured it would be as he was a detective after all. But luckily, she had a huge advantage as she was raised by one.

The day was finally here. She sent him a Happy Birthday text early that morning but promised they would go out for dinner since she had to "work" late. It read:

**Iris** :  Happy Birthday love! I'm so sorry I have to work all day but I can't wait to do dinner tonight. Also, I have a surprise waiting for you at the end of the night ;) love you! 

**Eddie** : Nothing would make me happier. Love you more!

He replied with a heart eye emojis attached. 

Joe was responsible for getting Eddie to the party. Although his planned strategy of telling Eddie they had received a 911 call from his childhood neighborhood was very much unorthodox, Iris had to let it be since she obviously couldn't come up with a better idea. 

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**6:47pm.**

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Over at Star labs, Cisco and Caitlin were getting ready. They had planned on bringing their clothes to work so they didn't have to waste time by going home after work to change. 

"Poor Barry." Caitlin remarks as she carefully applied her mascara using her computer monitor as a mirror. 

Cisco continues to adjust his blue and yellow polka dotted tie. "Yeah, yeah, but I'm soooo ready for the darrrraaaamahhh that is going to be this party!!" He smirks to his reflection on the transparent sliding glass door.

"Cisco!" Caitlin shakes her head. 

"What?! Don't try pretending like you're not even a tiny bit looking forward to the darrraaammahh that is going to be Eddie's surprise party." Cisco calls her out. 

Caitlin exhales in defeat and rolls her eyes, "Fine! But they are our friends. I'm just saying that we shouldn't be..."

"Sobriety!" Barry audibly declares cutting her off as he saunters into the cortex through the huge double glass doors.

He heads directly to the cabinet of chemicals behind Caitlin. He begins moving test tubes around as he tightly scrunches his forehead in determination. 

Cisco and Caitlin share a confused look before Caitlin decides to call out, "Barry?"

Barry remains focused on his mission as he continues rummaging through cabinet after cabinet.

"Dude, everything alright?" Cisco inquires.

Barry moves on to the next cabinet, flings it open and starts picking up jars. In the process, a small bottle drops to the floor and shatters loudly.

Harrison Wells peacefully rolls into the Cortex to find a distressed Barry trying to wipe up liquified ricin with his barehands.

"Allen!" He exclaims sternly.

Barry slowly turns around only to meet his team staring at him with worry.

"I can't..." He breathes as he presses the heel of his hand to his forehead. 

Harrison inquires a few moments later. "Mr. Allen, what can't you do?" His tone coming down a couple of notches with every word he utters. "What is it you can't..."

"I mean, I basically invited myself ... and ... but... i don't think..." Barry starts hyperventilating as he slowly drags his back against the wall before finally squatting down. 

Cisco sprints towards him, "Dude, you don't have..."

Barry ignores him. He quickly gets up and runs up to Caitlin.

"Where is the concentrated alcohol solution?" He stares down into her eyes. "I can't do this sober Cait, where is it?" He begs.

"Barry, trust me. That is not going to help the situation. If anythi..." Caitlin attempts to reassure him as she slowly places her hand on his shoulder. 

"Dammit Cait! I've never asked for it before now. Why can't any of you understand? I need this!" 

He widens his gaze towards her. "Please!!!" He turns his back to her and yells. 

"Barry Allen! You will pull yourself together this very moment." Harrison matches his tone.

"Boohoo, the girl you love doesn't love you back. News flash! You are not the first guy in history to experience heartbreak. So, I suggest you pick up the pieces and take it like - a - man!" 

Harrison starts rolling towards him as his tone escalates. "You're the f****g Flash for heavens sake. Start acting like it!" 

Barry clenches his jaw in frustration. 

"If you want to be a coward and take the easy way out. Please, go right ahead! I can have Dr. Snow cook up a glass of concentrated alcohol in a matter of minutes. But, while you're left sulking like baby who just got his favorite toy taken away, just know that you're doing Iris a favor. It sure will make her feel more confident in choosing Edward Thorne over your pitiful entitled deadbeat carcass. Or, you can take it like a gentleman." 

A tear rolls down Barry's left eye as he scrunches his hands into a fist. 

"We can only control how we respond to the things we cannot control, Allen."  Harrison finishes. 

Barry suddenly punches the wall in an attempt to release the anger. 

"Excuse me." He whispers as he quickly walks past them with his head down.

He speeds off into the particle accelerator and starts running as fast as his legs could carry him. Running felt like the only way he could release the pent up frustration that was hindering his breathing and thinking. With every minute, he felt a little less worse.

A quarter hour later, Cisco and Caitlin decided to check up on him. When they found no trace of him in the accelerator, Caitlin reached for her phone to text him. She found a text from him from  a minute ago.

Barry: Went home to change. Back in a 3.

Before she could finish reading the text, he was in front them carrying a small gift bag. 

The two give him a puzzled look.

"Before you start, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I've had some time to clear my mind and, you have nothing to worry about. I promise!" He reassures them.

"So... what's in the bag?" Cisco had to know. The curiosity was eating him raw. He even tries seizing the gift bag from him.

"We're gonna be late." Caitlin rolls her eyes as she walks past them. 

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**I'll only upload the next chapter if I get a good response from on this one. Trust me, you wanna read the next chapter ASAP! Its my favorite one so far!!!**

**Leave me your thoughts by commenting and follow this story so you get notified when I post the next chapter!!**

**LISTEN TO //**

# SLO - Nothing Hurts Like This

 

**Until Next Communion, follow me on instagram @splendidjanie**

**A HUGE thanks to all of you who try to comment all the time! It really makes my life :)**

**oX splendidjanie Xo**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	11. "Let me kiss you... please?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie's "surprise" birthday party is filled with more surprises than anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, leave a trail of thoughts / comments / feedback! :) Your comments really encourage me to update more often!

**Previously**

A quarter hour later, Cisco and Caitlin decided to check up on him. When they found no trace of him in the accelerator, Caitlin reached for her phone to text him. She found a text from him from a minute ago.

Barry: Went home to change. Back in a 3.

Before she could finish reading the text, he was in front them carrying a small gift bag.

The two give him a puzzled look.

"Before you start, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I've had some time to clear my mind and, you have nothing to worry about. I promise!" He reassures them.

"So... what's in the bag?" Cisco had to know. The curiosity was eating him raw. He even tries seizing the gift bag from him.

"We're gonna be late." Caitlin rolls her eyes as she walks past them. 

## "Let me kiss you... please?"

_**Please, leave a trail of thoughts / comments / feedback! :)** _

Exactly 45 minutes later, they arrived at the party.

Standing only a few feet away from the front door, the three could not believe the grandness that was before their eyes. The only thing surrounding the illuminated mansion was a vast forest that spread out as far as the eyes could see. 

To say Eddie came from money would be nothing shy from an understatement. Cisco had never been to the white house but he was more than confident in that this was the closest he'll ever get that.

Before they could even knock, Iris was already opening the door. She met her friends with the most sincere of smiles as she wrapped her arms around them in unison.

"I'm so glad you guys could make it!" She exclaims with her hands palms pressed to her chest. "Come on in!" She steps to the left and ushers them in.

"I'm sorry, did we just step into a freaking movie set?!" Cisco whispers to Barry. "Where are the cameras?" He began to look around. 

Elegantly dressed guests were evenly scattered across the ballroom - esque living room space; each dressed in designer from head to toe. The older crowd mingled at the bottom of the spiral staircase and sipped on bourbon as they pompously laughed at each others jokes. 

Meanwhile, the younger crowd claimed the spiral stairs that lead to what Barry could only guess were the bedrooms as he could barely see its end. 

In the far back end, a sign illuminated by neon lights read "Bar". To Barry's surprise, it was the least populated area in the entire house.

"Iris! You need to get dressed. They'll be here in 30!" Eden suddenly appears before them and pulls Iris by the arm, dragging her up the myriad of stairs. 

"I'm so sorry. I'll be down in a few! " She manages to call out. She then succeeds in sending an apologetic smile Barry's way. As much as every inch of him didn't want to, he couldn't help but return the smile.

Moments later, Cisco made his way up the staircase to meet a short blonde who had been giving him interesting looks since he walked in. Caitlin shook her head in absurdity as she dragged Barry to the bar.

As soon as they were seated, the Bartender approached them. "What can I offer the lovely couple this fine evening?". 

Barry noticed a slight Australian accent in his prose. He also took notice to the way he directed the question more so to Caitlin.

She pauses to take him in. He was of course dressed in his bartender uniform; a white button down long sleeved shirt that embraced his arm muscles oh so dearly. It was tucked into a pair of black slacks and an oxblood tie. His had his long hair in a man bun and most remarkably, he had the most finely defined chiseled facial structures she'd ever seen on a guy that wasn't David Beckham. His hazel eyes could mesmerize the devil himself.

"My good friend here is on... designated driving duty tonight and... " She smirks as if to dare him, "surprise us". She tilts her head to the left and slyly winks at him.

He laughs before slowly turning around and picking up two tall bottles.

She slowly rests her chin on the heel of her hand as she watches him mix their drinks. 

Barry watches their interaction very closely as the bartender returned with 2 glasses, only glancing over at him for a second.

"A sloe gin for Ms....???" He charismatically presented as he placed the drink before her; not intending on breaking eye contact.

"Snow. Caitlin Snow. And you are?" She smiles as she extends her right hand.

"Dazed, stunned and... uhhh obviously loosing my cool in front of the loveliest lady I've had the pleasure of serving all evening..." He smirks shyly and blushes as he sluggishly shakes her hand.

Caitlin pauses for a moment in shock before chuckling and almost spilling her drink all over herself.

"Charlie - for short. Charles Kelly." He laughs at her efforts at trying not choke on her drink by coughing miserably.

"Maybe... try leading with that? For future reference." Caitlin suggests still obviously trying to pull herself together. "This is my friend, Barry." 

She motions over to an open mouthed Barry who appeared to be looking straight past them. They both follow his gaze which lead to none other than Iris West in all her splendor.

She was wrapped up in a flared fitted rose red romper. The fabric which ended just below her hips not only exposed but accentuated her long caramel legs.

The black Christian Louboutins engulfing her feet perfectly added to her already alluring stature. The neckline which showed just enough cleavage to keep the mind guessing was decorated with the present she had received from Barry for Christmas.

She hurriedly tried to make her way down the stairs and across the room to encounter an elderly couple Barry could only guess were Eddie's parents. 

Not wanting people to start sending questionable looks their way, Caitlin decided to shake him out of his apparent trance. He turned his head only to see two sets of eyes fixed on him.

"Here. You clearly need it more." Caitlin pushes her drink towards Barry.

"Caitlin, thanks. But, i'm fine." Barry replies.

"Dude, heads up! She's coming over." Charlie warns the two before moving on to his bartender duties.

Iris steadily struts towards them, trying not to trip on her high heels. The light simultaneously highlighted her curvaceous body and the bounce of her now curled and pinned up hair.

She finally reaches them and picks up the drink in front of Barry, Caitlin's drink. "I'm so sorry about earlier! Its been so hectic all - day - long."

Barry couldn't help but intently stare at her neck as she starts gulping down the contents of the glass. His eyes slowly move farther down her color bone, and then to her chest where the necklace he had given her laid effortlessly.

He knew he was probably staring a little, no; a lot too much. But for some reason, this time, he just did not care. 

Caitlin motions to the entire house in awe. "Iris, this party is just ... WOW!" 

Iris manages to nod as she concentrated on downing the entire glass.

She finally sets the glass down and rests her elbow on Barry's shoulder to takes a breath.

"Thanks Cait! God, I've been looking forward to that all day!" She motions to the glass before continuing. "I have to give all the credit to Eddies parents. They've seriously been too generous."

As she continues talking with Caitlin, she began to notice that Barry hadn't said a word to her all evening. She slowly turns to find his eyes fixed on hers; his expression very serious... like he was trying to solve a very difficult puzzle or... something. 

For the first time, she could not not read him. She was about to say something when Caitlin chimed in.

"Don't even get me started on that outfit." Caitlin reaches over to feel her romper.

Before she could reply, her phone lights up.

Dad: "7 mins away."

"They're almost here!" She exclaims before running to the DJ and asking for the music to be turned off. She then takes the mic and timidly announces.

"Hello everyone. For those of you whom I haven't had the pleasure of properly meeting, I'm Iris West, Eddie's girlfriend."

Cisco, Caitlin, Eden and a few other blurt out, "Woo's!", "Yeah's! and "We love you Iris'!" followed by clapping.

"I just wanted to thank you all for coming and showing your love and support for Eddie on his Birthday! I just got an update from my dad saying they're five minutes away. So, in a couple of minutes, we will be turning the lights completely off. When they arrive, the lights will come back on. That will be our cue to yell... 'Happy Birthday'! So, please take the next minute to find a spot near the entrance. Again, thank you!"

Everyone begins to make their way around the staircase and the entrance. Iris puts the mic down and immediately spots Caitlin, Cisco and Barry standing at the back end of the forming semi circle. She rushes towards them and they quickly make space for her in the middle.

"You were really good up there!" Cisco compliments her. 

"So were you!" She motions over to the short blonde who was now very obviously checking Cisco out. 

They all share a good laugh as she tries hide his blush by hugging him. Well, almost all of them.

Still laughing, Iris turns to face Barry. He still had the same mysterious expression on his face. The one she couldn't read; his eyes still locked with hers.

She knew this was the last place he wanted to be. She had to constantly remind herself that he had insisted on coming despite their... despite everything. 

She decides to lighten the mood by making a sarcastic comment about the entire situation just as the entire house goes pitch dark and completely quiet.

Now obviously out of options, she chooses to wait and confront Barry after they successfully surprised Eddie. Today was all about him after all. She told herself as she put on a happy countenance in preparation to surprise her beloved boyfriend.

Almost immediately, she felt a warm breath on her neck.

Before she knew it, her hair was tenderly being moved and slowly being tucked behind her ear.

A voice she immediately identified belonged to Barry almost inaudibly whispered in her ear; followed by hot breathing down her neck.

"Let me kiss you." 

Barry could feel her chest rapidly rising and falling and her breathing escalating.

"Please." He adds; his breathing now correlating with hers.

He slowly positions his left hand around her neck, pulls her in, and softly places a faint kiss on her lips. When she didn't move or do anything that hinted that she wanted him to stop, Barry decides continue; this time, deepening the kiss. He hungrily massages the rims of her upper and bottom lips with his tongue as he repeatedly begged her for entrance.

He then curves his right hand to fit her slim waist. Almost immediately, she parts her lips in a pleasure filled moan. Without hesitation, he buried his tongue inside her mouth; wanting to explore every wall and crevice. 

She tasted like gin. For some reason, that seemed to excite him even more; if that was even possible at this point. 

Although very faint, he could feel her tongue move against his here and there. That was enough encouragement for him to intensify the kiss even more by biting and pulling on her lips; desperate to taste more of her.

Completely captivated in the moment, the two had failed to hear the cheerful "Happy Birthday" wishes or notice the now fully lit room.  

Barry felt two hands harshly pulling him away from Iris. Before he knew it, Eddie was throwing him to the floor and repeatedly punching him in the face.

Iris opened her eyes to find everyone, including Mr. & Mrs. Thorne staring at her. She was then greeted by the sight of her boyfriend mercilessly beating the shit out of her best friend.

"Eddie!! Eddie!! Stopppp!" She tried to pull him off Barry who wasn't even trying to fight back or showing any ounce of pain.

"Eddie, please! Stop!!" Iris cried out.

Eddie gave Barry one final blow before standing up and turning to facing Iris. The sight of her filled him with so much rage and anger; but also simultaneously, so much love towards her that he didn't even know what to say or do.

Iris couldn't help but reach towards him. "Eddie, listen to me. It's not..."

He backs away to avoid her touch. Not really knowing what to do, he finds himself smiling at her.

"I always knew we..." he paused, "... you were too good to be true."

"Eddie, I love you! Don't - " Iris cries out; tears rolling down her eyes like a waterfall.

He turns around and starts heading towards the door.

Still sobbing, Iris follows him out. "Eddie, wait!"

Cisco finally helps Barry get up. He had a split lip, an almost swollen shut eye and a bleeding cut in his cheek.

"Dude, your face is like messed up!" Cisco chuckles at the sight of his friends face.

Barry brings his hands up to his face to feel the wounds. He brings his hands down to see it completely covered in blood.

He smirks, "Worth every second."  

_**Please, leave a trail of thoughts / comments / feedback! :)** _

_**Your comments really encourage me to update more often!** _

**_A huge thanks to all of you who always make an effort to comment :) You make my life!!_ **

**_Instagram_ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want the next chapter ASAP, let me know your thoughts in the comment section! Your comments really encourage me to update more often! 
> 
> Instagram @splendidjanie

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked my attempt at Fan Fiction. Please ignore my grammatical errors.  
> Let me know what you think!! I’m open to constructive criticism so Hit me! Lol  
> Should I write another one or continue this? I’d really appreciate feedback  
> Okay,
> 
> A lot of you guys liked this and want me to continue it and i'm going to start as soon as I'm done posting this.   
> If you'ld like to be a co - writer for this story, let me know! I'm kinda stuck after this and I care so much about Westallen that I don't wanna shit on this story so please allow me time to get my shit together :)
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!!   
> xxxx splendidjanie xxxx


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